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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE 



City of the Seven Hills 



A Book of Stories from the History of 
Ancient Rome 



CAROLINE H. HARDING, A.B. 



SAMUEL B. HARDING, Ph.D. 

Associate Professor of History in Indiana University 



CHICAGO 
SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY 

1898 

L. 






Copyright 1898, 
By SCOTT, FOKKSMAN AND COMPANY 






PREFACE. 

In this volume, the attempt has been made to give 
a picture of the life and history of the Roman peo- 
ple. So far as it has been feasible, this has been 
done by means of biographical sketches, selected 
so as to be illustrative of the Roman character, 
its virtues and its faults. In this way, it has also 
been possible to weave into the narrative a more vivid 
description of the daily life and customs of the men, 
women and children of Rome, than would have been 
the case under any other method of treatment. In the 
last chapter, an attempt is made to relate the old 
Rome to modern life through a description of some 
existing remains, and to point out in a few words the 
way in which the ancient city was merged in the 
Rome of to-day. 

In a work designed for young children, as is this 
one, it seems desirable that the brutal element of 
Roman character and history should be eliminated 
so far as is possible ; and to this end, much has been 
omitted from the narrative which might properly find 
a place in a history of Rome for High School use. 

The limited view which is here offered, however, is 
a fundamentally true one, and it may easily be devel- 



4 PREFACE. 

oped into the accurate historical idea when the proper 
time comes for more advanced study. 

The book is designed especially for use as a supple- 
mentary reader for children of the sixth and seventh 
grades. Inasmuch, however, as some teachers may 
wish to use it for formal instruction in history, the 
book has been equipped with maps, summaries of 
chapters, and a chronological analysis of Roman his- 
tory. In this way, it is hoped that its use as a text- 
book may be facilitated without robbing it of its 
attractiveness as a reader. 

Bloomington, Indiana. 
November, 1898. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAP. 



I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XL 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 

XXIIL 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 



Preface 

List of Illustrations 

The Peninsula of Italy . 

Romulus and the Beginning of Rome . 

Numa, the Peaceful King 

The Last of the Kings 

The War with Lars Porsena . 

The Stories of Mucius and Cl&lia . 

Secession of the Plebeians 

The Story of Coriolanus 

The Family of the Fabii 

The Victory of Cincinnatus 

The Laws of the Twelve Tables 

How Camillus Captured Veii 

The Coming of the Gauls 

The Gauls in Rome 

Rebuilding the City 

The New Rome 

The War with Pyrrhus . 

Rome and the Carthaginians 

The War with Hannibal 

Rome Conquers the World . 

The Gracchi and their Mother 

The Wars of Caius Marius . 

Cicero, the Orator . 

Julius C/esar, the Conqueror of Gaul 

C^sar and the Beginning of the Empire 

Rome in the Time of Augustus . 

The Empire after Augustus . 

The Christians and the Empire 

The Remains of Ancient Rome 

Summaries of Chapters 

Chronological Outline . 

Index 



PAGE 

3 
6 

7 
15 

22 
30 
36 

43 
49 
55 
62 
68 

74 

80 

87 
94 
10 1 
110 
118 
128 
138 
150 
161 
169 
176 
189 
204 
217 
229 
236 
244 

257 
265 
268 



i 



The City of the Seven Hills. 



The Peninsula of Italy. 

IF you will look at a map of Europe, you will see 
three great peninsulas extending from its southern 
coast into the Mediterranean Sea. The one which lies 
farthest to the east is the peninsula of Greece ; you 
may have read of its beautiful scenery, and the brave 
people who lived there in olden times. The peninsula 
farthest to the west, with the Atlantic Ocean washing 
its rocky coast, is Spain. The land lying between the 
two is Italy; and it was there that a great people lived, 
many centuries ago, whose story you are now to read. 
These three peninsulas of southern Europe differ 
greatly from one another in shape and size. The 
Grecian peninsula is not nearly so large as that of 
Spain or Italy, and it has a number of smaller penin- 
sulas running out into the surrounding seas like the 
stubby fingers of a great hand. Spain is the largest of 
the three, and it is almost square in shape, with few 
bays and capes along its coast-line. Italy, which lies 
between the two in position, is also between the two in 
size and shape. It is larger than Greece, and smaller 

7 



8 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

than Spain, and its coast line is neither so broken 
that of the former, nor so regular as that of the latter. 
In shape, Italy is long and slender, and very much like 
a huge boot. On the map you will see it lying in the 
midst of the Mediterranean, with its toe to the smith 
and its heel to the east; and if you will look closely 
you will see that there is a great spur, too, upon the 
back of the boot,— but, instead of being placed on the 
heel, it has slipped far up on the ankle. 

The peninsula of Italy lies ab >ut as far north on the 
earth's surface as the State of New York, but it ha 
very different climate from that which is found in this 
latitude in America. To the north of it lies a high 
chain of mountains, which protect its sunny plains 
from the cold northern winds; while the sea that 
around it is warmed by the hot. currents of air from the 
deserts of Africa. In this way, the winters are made 
milder, and the summers warmer, than with us. 
that the orange and the olive grow there, where the 
people of our own country raise the pear and the ap] 

The surface of Italy varies greatly in different parts 
of the peninsula. In the northern part, between the 
steep wall of the Alps and the mountains to the south 
of them, lies a broad, well-watered plain, larger than 
the State of Indiana. Here we find the most fertile 
land in all Europe, where -row great fields of wheat 
and other -rain, and -roves of waving mulberry tr< 
Here, tOO, is to be found the largest river of Italy the 
Rivcr Po— which draws its waters from the melting 
snows of the Alps and tlows eastward to the Adriatic 

Sea. 

South of the basin of the Po, we come to a bell 



THE PENINSULA OF ITALY. 9 

mountains again. These are the Apennines. They 
are not nearly so high as the snowy Alps, but still they 



ITALY 




are higher in many places than the tallest peaks of our 
Appalachians. From where they leave the Alps, the 
Apennines sweep eastward almost across the peninsula; 



io THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

then they gradually curve to the southward and extend 
to the very toe of the peninsula. This same range 
appears again in Sicily, and forms the backbone of 

that island. Among these mountains we may - 
many lofty peaks, covered to the very top with ton 
of chestnut, oak and pine. Between the parallel rid. 
of the chain lie pleasant valleys without number; and 
at their foot are broad uplands where herds and flo 
can find pasture in the hottest and driest summer 
weather. 

On both sides of this wooded mountain chain, plains 
and wide belts of marshy country stretch, away to the 
sea. On the eastern side, the slope is quite steep and 
short, and the land there is hilly and broken by da 
gorges through which the rivers have cut their way to 
the Adriatic. Only people who live, for the n 
part, on the products of their slice]). ^»at> and cattle, 
can find a living here. On the western side, the slope- 
is more gentle, and broad, fertile plains lie betwi 
the mountains and the sea. Here the people do not 
have to depend so largely on their docks and herds, 
for they can raise grain, and grow vineyards; and, in 
the south, groves of orange, tig and olive trees may 
seen. 

As the peninsula is so narrow and the slopes SO short, 
you could not expect to find long, dee]) rivers, in that 
part of the country which lies south of the River 1' i 
Many streams rise in the mountains, and flow down 
across the country into the sea, but they are most 
them short, and few of them are dee]) enough IT a 

ship, or even a boat of large size. They vary, how- 
ever, according to the season of the year. Sometimes, 



THE PENINSULA OF ITALY. II 

after the rains have begun to fall, or when the snow is 
melting on the tops of the mountains, they are rushing 
torrents which sweep everything before them. Then, 
again, when the summer heats have come, and the 
rains have ceased, they shrink to little, harmless 
streams, or dry up altogether. The only river, south 
of the basin of the Po, which is deep enough to bear 
boats and small ships all the year around is the Tiber. 
This river rises in the Apennines, where they bend to 
the south ; it follows a long course through the plains, 
and then flows into the Mediterranean about half-way 
down the western side of the peninsula. The waters 
of even this longer river vary greatly at different 
seasons of the year, and its swift current is so often 
muddied with floods from rains and melting snows that 
it has been called "the yellow Tiber." 

Now that we have seen the surface of the peninsula 
of Italy, suppose that we go aboard a ship and sail 
along its shores in order to get an idea of its coast. 
We will begin our journey at the point farthest to the 
west. Here the Alps and the Apennines run together, 
and the mountains lie close to the water's edge. The 
shores are steep and lofty, and in many places there is 
barely room for a road to run between the mountains 
and the sea. 

Sailing from here across the gulf which lies between 
the peninsula and the mainland, we come to a coast 
where the Apennines leave the shore and are lost to 
sight to the eastward. This part of the coast is not so 
mountainous, but still it is high and rocky. As we go 
southward, however, it gradually becomes lower, until 
we see the flat and marshy plains that He about the 



12 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

mouth of the Tiber. Let us look well, as we pass, at that 
broad, flat plain that lies south of the Tiber; for it was 
there, many centuries ago, that the people lived of 
whom we are to read. 

When we have sailed past this low-lying coast, we 
come again to a bold and rocky shore. Here the 
coast-line is cut into broad, deep bays, whose sho 
are dotted with towns which were founded long, long 
ago. Towering above the waters of one of these b 
we see the smoking summit of Mount Vesuvius, one of 
the most famous volcanoes in the world. 

From here, all around the toe of Italy, the sea is 
faced by steep rocks, behind which rise lofty heights. 
On the shores of the great gulf which lies between the 
toe and the heel of the peninsula, we find another 
broad, well-watered plain; and here too are cities 
which were founded in the ancient days 

As we sail around the eastern corner of the peninsula, 
we look out upon a low and sandy country, which makes 
up the heel of the boot. As we continue up the east- 
ern shore, we notice that there are almost no good 
harbors on this side of the peninsula. We do not need 
to be told, therefore, that in ancient times there w< 
few cities here, and that only shepherds and cattle- 
raisers lived on the rolling plains. 

In some places this eastern shore is high also, and in 
others we find long stretches of low and sandy country. 
When we reach the land about the mouth ^\ the River 
Po, we sec wide, unhealthy marshes and many small 
sandy islands. Upon a group of these islands, the 
wonderful city of Venice is now built; but in the times 
of which you are now to read, there wasno Venice, and 



THH PmiNSVLA OF ITALY. 1$ 

all these islands were either marshy wastes, or the 
homes of a few scattered fishermen. 

In this peninsula of Italy, which we have been exam- 
ining so carefully, there now lives a nation of people 
who are united under one king into a government 
called the kingdom of Italy. But when our story 
begins, about seven hundred and fifty years before 
Christ was born, there was no kingdom of Italy and no 
Italian nation. 

Instead of this, there were many separate groups of 
people living in the peninsula, who were only distantly 
related, and who had very little to do with each other. 
They knew much less about their country than 
we do now ; for there were no books then to tell them 
about it, and in every direction the mountains, the 
rivers, or the sea hemmed them in, and made traveling 
so difficult that they could not well find out about it for 
themselves. So it happened, that most of these peoples 
were acquainted only with the groups who lived close 
by them ; and they were interested only in their own 
little city, and in their farms and pasture-lands which 
lay about it. 

In those olden days, each little city had its own 
king, who governed the people in time of peace, and 
led them in war, when they fought against their neigh- 
bors. Often, when there came to be too many people 
to live comfortably within the walls of a city, the 
younger and the poorer people would go away from 
their old homes and begin a new city somewhere else. 

Each of these new cities, like the old one, would be 
built on a hill or some high place which could easily be 
defended against their enemies. There the people 



14 Tin; CITY OF THE SEVEN IIIU 

would build their fort — or citadel, as they called it — 
and the rest of the town would grow up about it. 
Then, from their homes in this strong place, the 
people would go into the surrounding country to culti- 
vate their farms and to herd their cattle; but to this 
spot they would always retreat in time of danger. In 
this way every town lived more or less to itself, obey- 
ing its own king, fighting its own battles, and own 
and cultivating a few miles of land about it. 

In very early times, there was one city of this s«>rt, 
on the south bank of the River Tiber, about twenty 
miles from the sea. It was called Rome, and at first 
it was probably not very different from a hundred 
other towns in Italy. As time went on, however, 
Rome was to become much more than this. It was 
to conquer, first, the cities that lay nearest to it. 
Then it was to conquer those which lay farther and 
farther away, until it had made all Italy its own. 
Then it was to reach out, and conquer all of the lands 
about the Mediterranean Sea. In this way, it was to 
become, at last, the mightiest city that the world has 
ever seen. 



ROMULUS AND THE BEGINNING OF ROME. 1 5 



II 

Romulus and the Beginning of Rome. 

WE do not know just when, or how, or by whom 
the first beginning of Rome was made. 

It happened so long ago, and so few people could 
write in those early days, that no account, written at 
the time, has come down to us. Indeed, it is very 
likely that nobody then dreamed that the world would 
ever care to know how this little city was first com- 
menced. 

But, after Rome had begun to grow, and to conquer 
her neighbors, and people had begun to read and write 
more, then the Romans themselves began to be curious 
to know about the beginning of their city. It was too 
late to find out then, for the persons who had been 
alive at the time that it was founded were now long 
dead and forgotten. But the Romans continued to 
wonder about it, and at last they made up many stories 
of the early years of their city; and they came to 
believe these stories themselves, and have handed them 
down to us who have come after them. 

According to these stories, the first settlers at Rome 
came from a little city named Alba Longa; and the 
way they happened to leave that place and settle at 
Rome was this. 

The rightful king of Alba Longa had been put out of 
power by his brother. Then this brother had killed 



1 6 THE city OP Tin: SEVEN fflLl 

the true king's sons, and shut his daughter up in prison ; 
and there the princess had given birth to beautiful twin 
sons. When her cruel uncle heard this, and saw how 
large and strong the children were, he was much 
troubled; for he feared that, if they should grow up to 
be men. they might some day take his ill-gotten throne 
from him. He determined, therefore, to put them to 
death; so he took the sleeping children in the wooden 
trough which served as their cradle, and gave them to 
a servant, and told him to drown them in the River 
Tiber. 

The river at this time was overflowing its banks, 
and the main current ran so swift and strong that the 
man was afraid to go near the bed of the stream. For 
this reason, he merely set the trough down in the 
shallow water at the river's edge, and went his way. 
There the children floated gently, for some time, 
while their cradle was carried by the waters to a place 
where seven low hills formed the southern bank of the 
stream. The river was now going down as rapidly 
it had risen; and here, at the foot of a wild tig tree 
which grew at the base of one of these hills, the cradle 
at last caught in a vine and came safely to land. 

In this way the children escaped drowning, but they 
were still alone and uncared for, far from the home- 
men. Soon, however, they were provided for in a 
wonderful manner. When they began to cry i)\ 
hunger, a mother wolf that had lost its cubs came 
them, and gave them milk; and a woodpecker llew 
down from the trees and brought them food. 

In this way the children lived for some time. At 
last a shepherd of Alba Longa, who had often watched 



ROMULUS AND THE BEGINNING OF ROME. 17 

the wolf coming and going from the place, found the 
boys and saw how they had been cared for. The 
Italians thought that wolves and woodpeckers were 
sacred to Mars, their god of war ; so this shepherd had 
no doubt that the children were favorites of that god. 
He took them up, therefore, and brought them to his 
little hut, and he and his wife named the boys Romulus 
and Remus, and adopted them as their own. 

As they grew up among the shepherd people, 
Romulus and Remus became strong and brave, and 
showed spirits that nothing could subdue. When- 
ever there was a hunting party, or a contest in running 
or wrestling, or a struggle with robbers, who tried to 
drive off their flocks and herds, Romulus and Remus 
were sure to be among the foremost. 

In this wa)^, they won great fame among the shep- 
herds, but they also gained the hatred of evil-doers. 
At last, some lawless men, in revenge, seized Remus 
at a festival, and bore him to the false king of Alba 
Longa, and charged him with robbery. There the 
true king saw the young man, and he was struck with 
his appearance, and questioned him about his birth, 
but Remus could tell him little. 

In the meantime, the shepherd who had found the 
boys told Romulus the whole story of the finding of 
himself and Remus ; and Romulus gathered together a 
company of his companions, and hurried to the city to 
save his brother. In this he soon succeeded; and then 
the two brothers joined together to punish the cruel 
king of Alba Longa, and to set their newly-found 
grandfather on his throne once more. 

After this, the brothers were not willing to remain 



18 Till: CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

in Alba Longa unless they Could govern there, and yet 
they did not wish to take the government from their 
grandfather. As there were now more people in the 
city of Alba Longa than could live comfortably within 
its walls, it was decided to build a new city under the 
leadership of Romulus and Remus; and the two 
brothers decided to build the city near the fig tree, 
where they had been found as children by their foster- 
father. 

This was an excellent place for a city. On the near- 
est hill, which was called the Palatine, they could 
build their citadel; and at its foot were valleys in which 
they could plant their grain. If they wanted to trade 
with other cities, there was the River Tiber near at 
hand, for their boats to come and go upon; and, if, at 
any time, the city should grow too large for this one 
small hill, there were the six other hills near by to 
which the city might spread. 

After Romulus and Remus had decided upon the 
place for their city, a difficulty arose. A new city 
must have a founder, who should give his name to it; 
but which of the brothers should have this honor? As 
they were both of the same age, and could not settle the 
matter by giving the honor to the elder, they agreed 
to leave the choice to the gods of the place. So each 
took his stand upon one of the hills to receive a sign 
from the gods by watching the flight of birds. Then 
Remus saw six vultures from his hill-top; but 
Romulus, a little later, saw twelve. This was thought 
to be a better sign than that of Remus; so Romulus 
became the founder of the new city, and it was called 
Rome after him. 



ROMULUS AND THE BEGINNING OF ROME. 19 

Then Romulus began to mark off the boundaries of 
the city. He did this by hitching a bull and a cow to 
a plough, and drawing a deep furrow about the hill. 
After that they raised a wall about the place, and 
Romulus invited to his city all persons who might wish 
to come and settle there. And many of his rude shep- 
herd friends and many of the young men of Alba 
settled there with him; and men from other places, 
both slaves and freemen, joined them from time to 
time. 

In this way there were soon enough men in the city 
to make it a match for its neighbors in war. But still 
there were few women in the town, for the neighboring 
people would not allow their daughters to be taken in 
marriage by the runaway slaves and rude herdsmen of 
Rome. 

At last, Romulus planned to get by a trick what he 
could not get by fair means. He made a great festival 
in honor of the gods, and invited the people of the cities 
near at hand, and especially those of the tribe of the 
Sabines, to come and behold the games that were to 
take place. The people came, bringing their sisters 
and their daughters with them; then, while the visitors 
were intently watching the spectacle, the young men 
of Rome suddenly seized upon the young women and 
carried them off to their homes to be their wives. 

Of course, this broke up the festival, and the visitors 
left Rome, furiously angry at the wrong that had been 
done them. The men of Rome soon found that they 
must fight to keep the wives that they had taken by 
force. 

At first, it was' only the people of the cities near at 



»0 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

hand that came against them, and these the Romans 

sily defeated. But soon the powerful Sabine tribe, 
with their king at their head, came against Rome ; and 
then the Romans were not so successful. First a £< 
which the Romans had built on the hill called the 
Capitol, fell into the hands of the Sabines. Then, on 
the next day, the Romans and the Sabines met in 
battle in the valley between the Capitol and their city. 
The fight raged fiercely for a long time. First one 
side, and then the other, seemed victorious; but the 
battle still went on. 

At last, the captive Sabine women took courage to 
interfere and stop the bloodshed. They threw them- 
selves between the weapons of their fathers and their 
brothers on the one side, and those of their newly- 
made husbands on the other ; and they implored them 
to cease the fight, as it must bring sorrow to them, no 
matter who became the victors. 

Then the battle ceased, and the leaders of the 
Sabines, moved by the appeal of the women, came for- 
ward to make peace. It was agreed that the Romans 
should keep their wives, and that the Sabines should 
go to Rome to live, and that the two peoples should 
share the city between them. 

From this time the city grew rapidly, and it soon 
spread to others of the seven hills by the Tiber. Its 
people l>ecame so strong in war that none of their 
neighbors could harm them; and in war and in peace, 
RomulllS was their leader, and was greatly beloved by 
the people. He made many laws for them and estab- 
lished many good customs. He ordered that CVi 
eighth day there should be a market held at Rome, 



ROMULUS AND THE BEGINNING OF ROME. 21 

which the country folk might sell their produce; and 
he himself heard cases and dealt out justice there in 
the market place. And to aid him in the government, 
he formed a council of the older and wiser men, which 
was called the Senate, or the council of the city fathers. 

In this way, Romulus ruled his people for thirty- 
seven years. Then, one day, as he was reviewing the 
army, a sudden darkness fell upon the earth, and a 
mighty storm of thunder and lightning came upon 
them. When this had passed, and the air was clear 
once more, Romulus could nowhere be seen. 

While the citizens were seeking their king, and 
mourning for him, a citizen came forward, who said 
that, in the midst of the storm, he had seen Romulus 
carried up to heaven in the chariot of his father, Mars. 
After that the people ceased to mourn for him, for they 
now believed that he had become a god, and from that 
time on they not only honored him as the founder of 
their city, but they worshiped him as one of the gods 
of heaven. 



THE city OF THE SEVEN hills 



III 
Numa, the Peaceful King. 

AFTER Romulus had been taken from them, the 
Romans at first could not agree as to who should 
be king - in his place. The citizens who had first settled 
there wished to choose a king from their own number 
again; but the Sabines objected to this. They said 
that they had faithfully obeyed Romulus while he 
lived, and that now it was their turn to have a king 
chosen from among themselves. 

For a long time, the two parties could not come to 
an agreement. In the meantime, the Senate took the 
place of a king, and carried on the government itself. 
This, however, did not please the people. They said 
that now they had many kings, instead of one; and 
they demanded that a real king should be chosen. At 
last, it was arranged that the old citizens should choose 
a king from among the Sabines; and Xuma was then 
chosen to rule in the place of Romulus. 

The new king was different from Romulus in many 
ways. Romulus had been a gre.it soldier, and he had 
trained the people of the city for war; but, during his 
time, the men of Rome had little time or thought to 
give to anything else. It seemed to King Xuma that 
there were other things which were of more impor- 
tance than the knowledge of war, and the art of winning 
battles. He saw, too, that the Romans were too harsh 



NUMA, THE PEACEFUL KING. 23 

and violent, as warlike people always are ; and he 
wished to soften their manners and make them less 
rude. 

So King Numa made peace with all the enemies of 
Rome ; and, during the three and forty years that he 
ruled, there was no war. This left the Romans free to 
till their fields, and learn the arts of peace ; and to 
encourage them in this, Numa divided among the 
citizens the lands which Romulus had won in war. 
King Numa ruled his people as a wise and peaceful 
king ; but, better than this, he also taught the Romans 
how to honor their gods. 

The Romans believed in many gods, — indeed, almost 
every thing, and every act, was looked upon by them as 
having a god to watch over it. In later times, when 
they came to know the Greeks, they confused their 
own gods with the gods of the Greeks ; and still later, 
they sometimes borrowed gods from other peoples with 
whom they came in contact. So, if we tried to write 
down all the gods that the Romans believed in, it 
would make a very long list indeed, and not a very 
interesting one. But there were some of the gods that 
were very important in the life of the Romans, and 
you ought to know about these. 

The chief of the gods was Jupiter, the "Sky-father," 
whom they called the "Best and Greatest." He sent 
forth the clouds and ruled the storm, and the thunder- 
bolt was his weapon. It was he, too, who sent the 
birds whose flight showed the will of the gods to men ; 
and Victory and Good Faith were his constant com- 
panions. 

Next to Jupiter (or Jove, as he was sometimes 



24 



Tin: CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



called), the Romans worshiped Mars, the god of war. 
He was also the god who kept off sickness from the 
cattle, and blight and disease from the growing grain. 
They also worshiped the goddess Juno, as the com- 




JUPITER. 

panion of Jupiter, and the queen <>f the sky. It was 
she, they thought, who cared for the Roman women, 
and made their children strong and vigorous. Minerva 
was the goddess of wisdom and Inventions. She taught 
men the use of numbers; and each year the priest 



NUMA, THE PEACEFUL KING. 25 

solemnly drove a nail into her temple, so that they 
might in this way keep count of the years as they 
passed; on her festival, too, the school children had 
holiday, for she was the goddess of schools and learn- 
ing. Vesta, the goddess of the hearth-fire and of the 
home, was also worshiped by the Romans, and that 
too in a special way, as you shall see in a little while. 

Last of all, there was a curious god of Beginnings, 
called Janus, to whom the Romans sacrificed whenever 
they began anything new. The first month of the year 
was called in his honor "January," or the month of 
Janus. He was especially the god of gateways; and 
when the Romans wished to represent him, they made 
a figure with two faces on one head, to show that, as 
the guardian of the gate, Janus looked in both direc- 
tions. When the Romans were at war with any 
people, the gates of his temple stood open, but when 
they were at peace, they were closed; and during all 
the reign of Numa, the gates of Janus were fast shut. 

The Romans already believed in these gods when 
Numa became king; but he showed them more clearly 
the way in which each god was to be worshiped. He 
seemed so wise in these matters, that the Romans 
believed that one of the gods themselves must teach 
him. At last it was whispered that he was often seen 
to wander forth to a sacred grove where dwelt a 
nymph, or mountain spirit, named Egeria; and the 
Romans believed that this nymph loved him and 
advised him as to what would be pleasing to each of 
the gods. 

One of the things that Numa did was to divide the 
priests up into different companies, or colleges, and 



26 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

give each company its own part in the worship of the 
Is. In this way, lie set apart separate priests for the 
worship of Jove and Mars and Romulus; and the chiefs 
Of these priests, together with the king, were the high 
priests of Rome, and had charge of all things connected 
with the gods. A college of sacred heralds was also 
formed, whose business it should be to make a solemn 
declaration of war when the Romans took up arms 
against an enemy, and to proclaim the treaty of peace 
when the war was at an end. 

For the worship of the goddess Vesta, Xuma formed 
a company of virgins, or maidens, whose number was 
set at six. It was their duty to offer prayers each day, 
in the circular temple of the goddess; and, above all, 
they must take care that the holy fire which burned 
upon Vesta's altar was never allowed to die out. 

Only the daughters of the noblest families of Rome 
could be appointed for this service; and they could not 
be chosen before they were six years old, nor after 
they were ten. When a Vestal Virgin was appointed, 
she was taken to the house of the Vestals, where she 
must live for the next thirty years. The first ten 
years she spent in learning the duties of her office; the 
next ten years she practiced what she had learned, and 
the last ten she taught their duties to the newly-made 
Vestals. When the thirty years were past, she might 
leave the Vestals, and marry and have a home of her 
own, if she wished; but she randy did so. Great 
honor was shown them by the Romans, and if a crim- 
inal, who was being led away to imprisonment, met a 
Vestal Virgin by chance, he was at once set free-. 

There was one other company of priests, which arose 




VESTAL VIRGINS 



28 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

in a peculiar way, and had very curious duties. These 
were the "dancing priests" of Mars, and the Roman 
writers say that they arose in the following manner: 

In the eighth year of Xuma's reign, a great sickness 
came upon the Romans; and while the people were 
much discouraged on this account, suddenly a shield of 
brass fell from the heavens at the feet of King Xuma. 
When he consulted the nymph Egeria about it, she 
told him that it was the shield of Mars; and that the 
god had sent it down for the preservation of the city 
and that it should be kept with great care. 

Then King Xuma ordered that eleven other shields 
just like this one should be made; so that, if an enemy 
of the Roman people should attempt to steal the 
shield of Mars, he might not be able to tell the true 
from the false. This was done, and then King 
Numa appointed twelve young men of the noblest 
families to take the shields in charge; and he 
appointed a yearly festival which they should keep in 
honor of the god. 

Each year, when March — the month of Mars — came 
around, these priests were to take the sacred shields, 
and go leaping and dancing through the streets of the 
city, singing old songs in his honor. This festival 
lasted for twenty-four days, and each day the pro* 
sion came to an end at some appointed place. Then 
the shields were taken into one of the houses near by, 
and there the dancing priests were entertained with a 
fine supper. 

Xuma also ordered that whenever a war should break 
out, and it should be necessary for a Roman arm\ 
march out to battle, the general should first go to the 



NUMA, THE PEACEFUL KING. 29 

altar of the war-god, and strike the sacred shields and 
cry out : 

''Awake, Mars, and watch over us!" 

Then — so the Romans believed — the god would 
answer their appeal by going unseen before the army 
as it marched to battle ; and in later days stories were 
told of times when the god appeared in the form of a 
young man to encourage the soldiers, and lead them 
on when they were in danger of being defeated. 

In this way, King Numa arranged the worship of the 
different gods. By the sacrifices, religious dances, and 
processions which he appointed, he made the worship 
pleasant and agreeable to the people. So they followed 
the rules which he laid down for them, and, in the 
course of time, the Romans began to lose some of the 
fierceness which had marked the first rude settlers. 

At. last, after many years of quiet rule, King Numa 
died peacefully of old age, and all the nations about 
Rome so honored the memory of this king that they 
sent crowns and offerings to his funeral. 



30 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN II ILLS. 



IV 

The Last of the Kings. 

AFTER the death of Numa, the long peace which 
Rome had enjoyed came to an end. Under the 
kings who followed him, the wars with her neighbors 
were renewed, and it was centuries before the gates of 
the temple of Janus again stood closed. Some of these 
rulers were more peaceful than others, but all were 
good warriors. So the Romans were usually successful 
in their wars, and the land which Rome ruled grew 
larger, bit by bit, by their conquests. Above all, the 
Romans learned two lessons in these times. They 
learned to fight well and bravely; and they learned to 
obey their rulers in war and in peace. 

After a number of years, trouble arose between 
Rome and Alba Longa, its mother city. War fol- 
lowed, and the men of Alba were defeated. Then it 
was agreed that the people of that city should leave 
their homes and seek new ones at Rome; and the city 
of Alba Longa was destroyed. 

The settlers who came from Alba Longa. at this 
time, were so numerous that the population of Rome 
was nearly doubled by their coming. As the city 
grew, the hills about the Palatine had been occupied, 
one after the other, and now Rome could truly be called 
"the City of the Seven Hills." As the city grew, it 
became necessary to defend these new parts, a 



THE LAST OF THE KINGS. 



31 



against Rome's enemies. At last, new walls of stone 
were built for the city, and all of the seven hills of 
Rome were included within them. So large was the 
space which they inclosed, that for many hundreds of 




years the city did not outgrow them ; and so well was 
the work done in building them, that parts of these 
walls are still standing to this day. 

Many other useful public works were built at this 
time. The valleys between the hills of the city were 
low and marshy in places; to drain these, and make 



$2 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILL 

them healthy and fit for men to dwell in, great se\\\ 
were built which emptied their waters into the River 
Tiber. In one of the valleys, also, a race-course was 
laid out, for the chariot races, of which the Romans 
were very fond. 

On the hill called the Capitol, a great temple was 
built in honor of the three gods, Jupiter, Juno, and 
Minerva; and this temple stood as the chief center of 
the Roman worship until it was burned, live hundred 
years later. It was so large that it covered eight acres 
of ground. Its spates were of brass, covered with gold; 
while the inside was of marble and was decorated with 
gold and silver ornaments. When the workmen were 
laying its foundations, they had to remove a number 
of altars that had already been set up there; but the 
altar of the god of Youth, and that of the god of 
Boundaries, they could not mo\ e. Then the priests 
said that this was a sign that Rome should ever remain 
young and strong, and that her boundaries should 
never be moved backward; so the two altars were 
allowed to remain, and they were inclosed in the new 
temple. 

While this great temple was still unfinished, an old, 
old woman came one day to the king of Rome. She 
brought with her nine "books," or rolls of paper, in 
which were written down oracles or prophecies. 
These told how the wrath of the gods might be 
turned away, whenever it had brought sickness, 
famine, or other misfortune, on the people. She 
Offered to sell the books to the king; but the price 
which she asked for them was so high that he refused 
to buy. 



THE LAST OF THE KINGS. 33 

Then the old woman went away, and burned three of 
the books. When she returned, she offered him the 
six books that remained, but she asked for them 
the price which she had before asked for the nine. 
Again the king refused to buy. Once more the old 
woman burned three of the books ; then she returned, 
and again she offered the king the ones that remained 
for the price she had at first asked for all. 

This time the king yielded. He bought the three 
books at the price which she asked; and when the 
temple on the Capitol was finished, they were placed 
in a vault under it for safe keeping. After this, when- 
ever any trouble came upon the city, one of the first 
things that the Romans did was to consult these books ; 
and the message which the priests found in them, the 
people accepted as the voice of the gods. 

After many years, the seventh king sat on the throne 
of Rome, and men called him Tarquin the Proud. He 
was a cruel and wicked man. He had gained his 
power by bloodshed and violence, and he used it like a 
tyrant. He repealed the good laws which had been 
made under the kings who had ruled before him, and 
he made others in their place. The nobles complained 
that he did everything by his own will, and never 
asked the Senate for its advice and assistance ; and the 
people murmured at the constant wars which he carried 
on, and the hard tasks to which he set them in time of 
peace. At last, all Rome was weary of his rule, and 
the people of the city only needed a leader to turn 
against him. 

This leader they found in a noble named Brutus, 
who had suffered much at the hands of the king. His 



34 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

brother had been put to death by Tarquin ; and Brutus, 
to save himself from a like fate, had been obliged to give 
up his property and pretend to be dull and slow of 
mind, so that the king might find nothing in him to 
fear. 

But Brutus's dulness of mind was only pretended. 
Once he had been sent as the companion of the king's 
sons when they went to consult the great Oracle at 
I Delphi, in Greece. After finishing the business upon 
which they had been sent, the young men asked the 
Oracle which one of them should succeed King Tarquin 
as ruler of Rome. The Oracle replied, that he who 
should first kiss his mother upon their return should 
rule the city. When they returned to Italy, each of 
the princes hurried off to find their mother, in order 
that he might kiss her first, and so gain the throne. 
But Brutus understood the Oracle better. As he 
landed from the ship, he pretended to stumble and fall, 
and so kissed the ground beneath him. He guessed 
that the Oracle had not meant a person at all, but the 
great Earth, the mother of us all. 

Tarquin might, perhaps, have been king of Rome 
until he died, if it had not been for the great wicked- 
ness of one of his sons. While Tarquin was away from 
the city, carrying on a war with a neighboring people, 
this son caused the death of a noble Roman lady named 
Lucretia. Because of his act, her husband and her 
father were filled with grief and rage. Brutus, who 
was with them, now threw off his pretended dulness. 
He seized the bloody dagger that had slain Lucretia, 
and sw<>re with them that lie would never rest until the 
family of Tarquin had ceased to reign at Rome. In 



THE LAST OF THE KINGS. 35 

order that all might see what cause they had to turn 
against their king, they laid the dead body of Lucretia 
in the market-place of the little town where she had 
been slain. Then Brutus hastened to Rome, and told 
the story there. At once the people were filled with 
anger against Tarquin and his sons. When the king 
and his followers returned to Rome, they found the 
gates of the city closed against them ; and, in spite of 
all that he could do, Tarquin was never again to come 
within the city walls. 

After they had cast out the Tarquins, the people took 
an oath that they would never, from that time on, allow 
any one to become king in Rome. One of the first 
things which they then had to do was to find some other 
form of rule, to take the place of the old one ; for unless 
they had a settled government, their enemies would be 
able to overcome their armies, and King Tarquin would 
return to his throne once more. 

So the people set up a republic. They agreed that 
two men, called consuls, should be elected each year; 
and these consuls, with the Senate, should rule Rome 
in the place of the kings. When the vote was taken for 
the consuls for the first year, it was found that Brutus 
was one of the two men who were elected ; so the oracle 
was fulfilled which foretold that he should follow Tar- 
quin as ruler at Rome. 



36 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



The War with Lars Porsena. 

TARQUIN THE PROUD was not content, how- 
ever, to see his kingdom slip from him so easily; 
and the Roman people were soon obliged to fight for 
the right of governing themselves. Their first trouble 
came from within the city itself; and this, perhaps, no 
one had expected. 

There were some of the people of Rome who were not 
pleased at the driving away of the king, and who would 
have been glad to have him back with them again. 
These persons were young men of high family and much 
wealth, who had been the companions of the young 
princes, and who had enjoyed rights and privilej 
under the rule of Tarquin, which were now taken away 
from them. They complained bitterly of this, and said 
that, though the rest of the people had gained by hav- 
ing Tarquin go, they had lost by it. So, when the 
chance offered itself, they selfishly began to work to 
bring Tarquin back. 

The chance came when Tarquin sent men back to 
Rome to claim the property which he and his sons had 
left behind them in the city, when they had been driven 
away. While these men were in Rome, they secretly 
made a plot with the dissatisfied young nobles to place 
King Tarquin on his throne once more. This was 
treason on the part of the young nobles; but they cared 



THE WAR WITH LARS PORSENA. 37 

more for their own pleasures than they did for their 
city. However, the plot was discovered by a slave. 
From him the consuls learned of it ; and they ordered 
that the plotters should all be seized. Then it was 
found that among these young men were the two sons 
of the consul Brutus himself. 

This made it very hard for Brutus, for it was part of 
his duty as consul to act as judge in the trial of prison- 
ers. But he was a true Roman, and loved his country 
even more than he did his own sons. He took his seat 
with the other consul, and, when the young men were 
led before the judges, Brutus did not hesitate to con- 
demn them all to death. Then the prisoners were 
given into charge of attendants of the consuls, called 
lictors. The lictors each carried a battle-ax, bound 
into a bundle of rods, as a sign that the consuls had the 
right to punish both with the rods and with the ax. 
They took the young nobles, and first whipped them 
with the rods, and then put them to death. And the 
Romans saw, with admiration and pity, that the stern 
virtue of Brutus did not fail him even when his own 
sons were put to death before his eyes. 

Tarquin was only made more angry and determined 
by the failure of this plot. He now decided that if he 
could not get back his throne by a trick, he would try 
to do so by war. He went about from city to city, 
begging help from the enemies of Rome to bring that 
city back under his rule once more. And no matter 
how often he was refused, or how often when he got 
help he was defeated in battle, he was always ready to 
begin again. 

At last, Tarquin got the help of a powerful king who 



33 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



ruled over a part of Tuscany, as the district is called 
which lies north and west of the Tiber. A rine poem* 




LICTORS. 



has been written about this war by an English writer, 
and in it you may read how 



Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome. 



THE WAR WITH LARS PORSENA. 39 

Lars Porsena of Clusium, 

By the Nine Gods he swore 
That the great house of Tarquin 

Should suffer wrong no more. 
By the Nine Gods he swore it, 

And named a trysting day, 
And bade his messengers ride forth, 
East and west and south and north, 

To summon his array. 

When the Romans heard this news, they were filled 
with dismay; and from all sides the country people 
flocked into the city. Never before had so great a 
danger threatened that place. But the Senate and 
consuls prepared as well as they could to meet the 
attack, and tried to hope that they might still be able to 
defeat their enemies. 

Just across the river from Rome was a long, high 
hill. Here the Romans had built a fort as a protection 
to the city ; and to connect this with Rome, a wooden 
bridge had long ago been placed across the rapid stream 
of the Tiber. 

If the Romans could hold this height and the 
bridge, the city would be safe. But by a quick 
march, and a fierce attack, the enemies of Rome 
seized the height. Then they rushed on to gain the 
bridge also; and many of the Romans who were guard- 
ing it were struck with fear, and turned to flee into 
the city. 

At this moment a Roman named Horatius rushed in 
among those who were fleeing, and sought to stay 
their flight. 

"What good will it do you to flee?" he cried. "If 
you give up the bridge it will not be long before 



4° THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

there are more of the enemy in Rome itself than there 
are here. Break down the bridge before you 
Meanwhile, I will guard the entrance, so far as one 

man may. " 

At these words, the soldiers were seized with shame. 
While two of their number stepped up to Horatius's side, 
to defend with him the narrow entranee, the others fell 
to work with swords and axes and levers to tear down 
the bridge behind them. When the last timbers were 
just ready to fall, the soldiers called to Horatius and 
his brave companions to come back, while there was 
yet time to cross. His two companions darted back 
across the swaying timbers; but Horatius lingered t<> 
the last. Then, just as he turned to cross, with a 
mighty crash the bridge fell, and he was left alone with 
his enemies. 



Alone stood brave Horatius, 

Hut constant still in mind; 
Thrice thirty thousand foes lvfore, 

And the broad flood behind. 
"Down with him!" cried false Sextos, 

With a smile on his pale face. 
"Now yield thee," cried La-- Porsena 

"Now yield thee to our gra 

Round turned he, as not deigning 

Those craven ranks to see; 
Naught spake he to Lars Porsena, 

To Sextus naught spake he; 
But he saw on Palatums 

The white porch of his home; 
And he spake to the noble ri 

That rolls by the towel ae. 



THE WAR WITH LARS PORSENA. 4* 

"O Tiber! Father Tiber! 

To whom the Romans pray, 
A Roman's life, a Roman's arms, 

Take thou in charge this day." 
So he spake, and speaking sheathed 

The good sword by his side, 
And with his harness on his back, 

Plunged headlong in the tide. 

No sound of joy or sorrow 

Was heard from either bank ; 
But friends and foes in dumb surprise 
With parted lips and straining eyes, 

Stood gazing where he sank ; 
And when above the surges 

They saw his crest appear, 
All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry, 
And even the ranks of Tuscany 

Could scarce forbear to cheer. 

But Horatius was weary and wounded from the fight, 
and his armor weighed heavily upon him. Many times 
he seemed sinking in midstream, but each time he rose 
again. At last, he felt the bottom under his feet, and 
safely climbed the other shore. 

The city was saved, and it was mainly Horatius who 
had saved it. The state was grateful to him for his brave 
deed. The Senate ordered that he should have as 
much of the public land as he could plough around in 
one day ; and his statue was set up in the Forum, or 
market-place, of Rome. But best of all was the grati- 
tude which the citizens, of their own accord, showed 
him. When food became scarce because of the war 
with Lars Porsena, the citizens each brought to the 
house of Horatius little gifts of grain and wine, so that 



42 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILL 

whatever suffering might come upon themselves, there 
would still be plenty in the house of the man who had 
saved Rome. And long afterwards we can imagine 
Roman fathers telling the story to their children: 

When the goodman mends his armor, 

And trims his helmet's plume; 
When the goodwife's shuttle merrily 

Goes flashing through the loom; 
With weeping and with laughter 

Still is the story told. 
How well Horatius kept the bridge 

In the brave days of old. 



THE STORIES OF MUCIUS AND CECELIA. 43 



VI 

The Stories of Mucius and Cloelia. 

AFTER Lars Porsena had failed in his attempt to 
f\ seize the bridge over the Tiber, his army lay for 
a long time about Rome, and within the city food 
became very scarce and high in price. Lars Porsena 
thought that he could starve the city into surrendering, 
and at last it began to look as though he might suc- 
ceed. But a young noble named Mucius thought it a 
disgrace for the Romans to be obliged to lie within 
the walls, surrounded by the army of the enemy, and 
to do nothing to help themselves. So he went before 
the Senate and said: 

"O Fathers! permit me to cross the Tiber and 
attempt to enter the enemy's camp. For it is in my 
mind to do a great deed, if the gods assist me." 

Though they did not know what he planned, the Sen- 
ate gave him leave to go; and, with a sword concealed 
under his garment, Mucius set out. When he reached 
the camp of Lars Porsena, he found a great crowd of 
soldiers receiving their pay from a man in a purple robe 
who sat upon a throne. Mucius thought that surely 
this man must be King Porsena; so he entered the 
crowd, and, when he had come near enough, he fell 
upon him and slew him. But this man was only the 
king's clerk, and the soldiers near by seized Mucius 
and brought him before the real king for judgment. 



44 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

When Lars Porsena demanded of the youth who he was 

and what was the meaning of his deed, Mucins 
answered : 

"Know, O King, that I am a Roman citizen. Mucins 
is my name. You are the enemy of my country, and I 
sought to kill you. I know that I shall suffer death, 
and I have the firmness to meet it. Hut do you pre- 
pare yourself to battle for your life every hour; to have 
the sword of the enemy at the very entrance of your 
tent. That is the war which we, the Roman youth, 
declare against you." 

At these words the king was much disturbed, and 
demanded to know more, and ordered fires to be kindled 
around the prisoner, if he did not explain the plot 
which seemed to be formed against him. But Mucins 
only replied : 

"Behold! and see of how little account the body is to 
those who have great ends in view." 

As he said this, he thrust his hand into the fire 
which was burning upon an altar near by, and held it 
there without a sign of pain or flinching. 

The king, astonished at this act, arose from his 
throne and commanded that the young man be taken 
away from the altar. Then the king said to him: 

"You have acted more like an enemy to yourself 
than to me. I should encourage you to be always so 
brave, if that bravery were only shown upon the side of 
my country. At all events, I shall now send you back 
V> Rome, untouched and unharmed by me." 

Then Mucins replied, as though making a return for 
the kindness shown him: 

"Since bravery is s<> honored by you, () King, I will 



THE STORIES OF MUCIUS AND CECELIA. 45 

tell you that three hundred of the best of the Roman 
youth have plotted to attack you in this manner. It 
was my lot to come first. The rest will follow, each 
in his turn, until we shall make an end of you." 

When Lars Porsena heard this, he saw how hard it 
would be for him to take Rome, if its people were will- 
ing to give up their lives in this way for the cit} 7 ". He 
sent Mucius back to Rome in safety, where he was 
honored ever afterwards by the name of the "left- 
handed," because his right hand had been destroyed in 
the altar fire. 

Then Porsena agreed to make peace with the 
Romans, and to take his army away from around the 
walls of the city. But first he demanded pledges from 
the Romans that they would keep the peace; and they 
gave him the sons and daughters of the noblest Roman 
families, and Lars Porsena took them away with him 
as hostages, so that he might punish them if the 
Romans broke the peace. 

Among the hostages who were obliged to go with 
Lars Porsena was a high-spirited girl named Clcelia. 
She did not like to live as a captive in a strange camp, 
and she made a plan to escape. Porsena's army then 
lay not very far from Rome, on the banks of the Tiber; 
and one day Cloelia, taking a number of other girls 
with her, managed to swim across the river, and 
reached Rome in safety. 

When the king was told of the escape of the hostages, 
he was very angry, and sent messengers to Rome to 
demand that Clcelia and her companions should be sent 
back to him. The Romans kept their faith, and 
returned the girls to Porsena; for they thought that 



4 r > Tin: CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

they had no right to keep the children simply because 
they escaped so bravely. When Porsena saw that the 
Romans were acting fairly in the matter, his anger 
faded, and he became as generous as they had been 
just. He led all the Roman prisoners before Cloelia. 
and bade her choose half of them to return with her 
to their homes. She chose the youngest among them, 
and they were then sent back to Rome with great 
honor, for Lars Porsena said: 

"The girl Cheliais as brave as Mucins and Horatius." 
Even after Lars Porsena had made peace with the 
Romans, Tarquin was not yet satisfied that he would 
never again be allowed to rule at Rome. When he 
found that Porsena would no longer help him, he did 
not rest till he had found another king to fight for him. 
Then he marched again against Rome, with the armies 
of thirty cities at his back. The Romans heard with 
terror of the approach of this great force, for they 
feared that they would not be able to beat back 
many enemies; and to meet their danger, they made a 
change in their government. 

They had found that sometimes the two consuls could 
not agree, and that the state was weakened by their 
quarrels. So, in order to prevent this from happening 
now, while their freedom was to be fought for again, 
they determined to try another plan. They elected 
one man to fill the place of a king while the danger 
lasted, and they called him a Dictator. Everyone was 
to obey him, as though he were a king in truth; and 
when he led the army out to tight against King Tarquin 
and his friends once more, the people hoped that they 
would win the victory. 



THE STORIES OF MUCIUS AND CLCEL1A. 47 

For a time, however, it seemed that they would be 
defeated. The soldiers fought bravely, and the Dic- 
tator made every effort to win the battle, but at last the 
men began to give way. Then the Dictator prayed to 
the twin gods, Castor and Pollux, and vowed to build a 
temple to them in Rome if they would give their help. 
Even as he prayed, two youths, on horses as white as 
snow, rode to the front of the Roman army, and began 
to press the enemy back, and at last drove them to 
their camp. But when the Romans had gained their 
victory, and turned to look for the youths who had 
saved the day for them, they could find no sign of them 
except a hoof-print in the rock, such as no earthly 
horse could have made. 

When the army returned to Rome, however, the old 
men and women, who had been left in the city, told 
them a wonderful tale. While they had waited in the 
Forum, for news of the army, two strangers on white 
horses covered with the foam of battle, had suddenly 
appeared and ridden to the pool of water by the temple 
of Vesta. There they had dismounted and bathed 
their weary horses in the cool water, while they told 
the people of the victory of Rome. When one of the 
men who had gathered about them doubted the report 
which they brought — for it seemed too good to be true, 
— the youths had smiled and gently touched his beard 
with their hands ; and the hair, which before had been 
as black as coal, became yellow, like bronze. Then all 
had believed the good news ; and after that the youths 
mounted again and had ridden away, to be seen no 
more. 

When the Dictator heard this story, he could no 



48 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

longer doubt that his prayer had been heard. The two 
youths who had aided the army, and who had brought 
the news of the victory to Rome, he now knew to be 
Castor and Pollux. So a temple was built to the twin 
gods on the spot where they had washed their horses; 
and some of its columns stand in Rome to this day. 

After this battle, Tarquin the Proud was unable to 
get any one to help him make war on Rome. Two 
years later he died, and after that there were no more 
attempts to restore the rule of the Tarquins in the City 
of the Seven Hills. 



SECESSION OF THE PLEBEIANS. 49 



VII 

Secession of the Plebeians- 

DURING all the long years after the founding of 
the city, Rome had been growing steadily, in 
spite of her many wars with her enemies. It was not 
only that her boys and girls grew up to be men and 
women with children of their own, and in this way the 
number of people in the city was increased; many 
persons came to Rome from other places and settled 
there. Sometimes they did this because the river 
Tiber made Rome a good place to carry on trade; 
sometimes they came because the hills of Rome made 
the city a strong place, where they could be safe from 
robbers. Sometimes, too, the Romans would conquer 
the people of another city in battle, and would bring 
them in a body to live at Rome. So, in many ways, 
the number of the people in the city grew, until it was 
said that, about the time that King Tarquin was driven 
out, there were as many as eighty thousand men in 
Rome, who could serve in war if there was need of 
them. 

This was a good thing for Rome in some ways, but 
in one way it was bad. The new people and their chil- 
dren were not allowed to take part in the government, 
so the Romans came to be divided into two classes. 
The descendants of the old families were called 
patricians, and they alone could hold the offices and be 



5° THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

priests. The descendants of the new-comers were 
called plebeians; and, though they could own property, 
and carry on business, and sometimes were allowed to 
vote, yet they could not be elected to any office and in 
other ways were not allowed the full rights of Roman 
citizens. 

After King Tarquin was driven away from the 
city, the plebeians became worse off than they 
had been before. The patrician consuls and the 
patrician Senate used their power for the good of their 
own class. The patricians alone were allowed to use 
the public land, — from which, you will remember, 
some was given to Horatius as a reward. But worst 
of all was the cruel law of debt, which was now 
enforced against the plebeians more harshly than ever 
before. 

When a poor plebeian returned from fighting in the 
wars of his country, he might find that the crops on his 
little farm outside of Rome had been destroyed by the 
enemy, and his cattle had been driven off. Then he 
would be obliged to borrow money of some rich 
patrician to help pay his taxes and support his family 
until the next harvest could be gathered. But, if 
another war followed during the next summer, he 
would have to leave his farm again, and so could not 
pay his debt when he had promised. Then he might 
be seized and put into prison, and even sold as a slave, 
by the man to whom he owed the monev. 

In this way. many plebeians suffered from the harsh 
laws, and they became very much discontented. At 
last, one day, an old soldier appeared in the market- 
place at Rome, appealing to the people in his great 



SECESSION OF THE PLEBEIANS. 5 x 

misery. His clothes were soiled and torn, and his hair 
and beard had grown long and shaggy over his pale, 
thin face. But in spite of his pitiful appearance he 
was recognized as a man who had been a brave officer 
in the army, and on his body could be seen many scars 
which he had gained in battle. 

"While I have been fighting in your wars," he cried, 
"the enemy have destroyed the crops upon my land; 
they have burned my house and driven off my cattle. 
The money which I was compelled to borrow, I could 
not pay back. So my farm has been taken from me; I 
have been thrown into prison ; and see ! here are the 
marks of the whip upon my back." 

When the people heard his story and saw his 
wretched condition, a great tumult arose. The people 
rushed upon the houses of the patricians and set free 
the prisoners whom they found in them. Soon, from 
every side, men came running who had suffered like 
this brave man from the cruel laws of debt; and 
the market-place was filled with angry shouts. 

In the midst of this trouble news came that their 
enemies, the Volscians, were on the march toward 
Rome. At first the plebeians refused to enlist in the 
army, which was called to go out to fight them. 
When they were promised, however, that the laws 
about debts should be changed, they gave in their 
names and marched out to the war. Then, when the 
Volscians had been defeated, and the war was over, the 
patricians refused to change the laws as they had 
promised. After a great deal of trouble, the plebeians 
at last determined to settle the matter for themselves. 
You have read that the Romans learned two things 



52 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

under their kings, — to fight and to obey. They 
believed that they must obey their laws and their rulers 
even if they were cruel and unjust; and, although they 
were now greatly abused, they did not use their arms 
against the men who ruled them. Instead of killing 
and burning, the plebeians formed another plan. 

"We cannot use force against our consuls," they 
said, "but we will leave the patricians to fight for 
themselves when the next army comes marching 
against the city. We will let them receive the wounds 
and bear the evils from which we have been suffering." 

Then they marched out from the city, and set up an 
armed camp on the Sacred Mount, which was not far 
from Rome. There they waited quietly for many 
days, without attacking any one and taking only 
enough food from the people of the country to keep 
themselves from starving. 

Meanwhile, in Rome the consuls and the Senate were 
filled with dismay. The main support of the state was 
gone, and the patricians began to realize how much they 
had depended upon the plebeians for the good of the 
city. There was nothing now to stand between them 
and an enemy, and they trembled to think what 
would become of Rome if an army should now come 
marching against it. When they heard that the men 
upon the Sacred Mount were talking of beginning a 
new city, as Romulus and his companions had done, 
they felt that they must give way, or else sacrifice 
themselves and their city. At last, they sent a man to 
the people to offer to make terms with them. He was 
a wise and eloquent man, and he had been chosen 
because he was beloved by the common people. The 



SECESSION OF THE PLEBEIANS. 53 

plebeians admitted him willingly to their camp, and 
listened eagerly to his message. He began by telling 
them a story. 

"Once upon a tiirfe," he said, "the other parts of the 
human body began to grumble because they had all 
the work to do, while the stomach lay idle in their 
midst, and enjoyed the results of their labors. So they 
agreed that the hands should not carry food to the 
mouth, or the mouth receive it, or the teeth chew it. 
In this way, they thought to starve the stomach into 
submission. But soon they found that the different 
members, and even the entire body itself, began to 
grow weak and thin, and that, the more they starved 
the stomach, the weaker they all became. Then they 
began to see that the service of the stomach was by no 
means a small one ; that it not only received nourish- 
ment, but supplied it to all the parts, and that the 
members of the body could not themselves live and do 
their work without it." 

As you can easily see, the messenger meant to show 
the people, by this fable, that the inhabitants of a 
city form one great body, with each class depending 
upon every other for its welfare. The people listened 
patiently to him, and saw the truth in what he said. 
In the end, they returned to Rome, but only after the 
patricians had agreed that, from this time on, the 
plebeians should have a number of officers of their 
own, called Tribunes, to protect them. 

These tribunes were given very high powers. When 
anything was being done, even if it were by the consuls 
themselves, the tribunes could step forth and say, 
"Veto!" which means, "I forbid it!" and at once it 



54 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

must stop. No one might harm a tribune in any way, 
and during the year that they held office, the tribunes 
always slept in their own houses in the city, with their 
doors open day and night, so that no one might seek 
their aid in vain. 

With the tribunes to help them in their difficulties, 
the common people were relieved of many of their 
troubles. But still the struggle between the patricians 
and the plebeians lasted for nearly two hundred years 
longer, and did not cease until the plebeians had been 
given equal rights in the government with the patri- 
cians. Through all this long struggle there was very 
little bloodshed, and there was never war between the 
two classes. And often, when the struggle was at its 
fiercest, the patricians and plebeians would lay aside 
their quarrels, and march out, side by side, to fight the 
enemies of their city. 

In this way the Romans learned something better 
than how to fight battles successfully, — they learned 
how to govern themselves. The patricians always held 
out for their rights just as long as they could, but when 
they were beaten, they knew how to give way and make 
the best of it. From these struggles the whole people 
learned obedience and self-control, and so became fit 
to rule themselves, and other lands also, when they 
grew strong enough to conquer them. 



THE STORY OF CORIOLANUS. 55 



VIII 

The Story of Coriolanus. 

NOT long after the people had gained their tribunes 
to protect them, a noble lady, named Veturia, 
lived in Rome. She was a widow, and had but one 
son, Caius Marcius, whom she loved very dearly. From 
his babyhood, Caius was a strong, brave boy, and his 
mother had every reason to be proud of him, except for 
one fault. He had a violent temper, and never learned 
to control it ; and, in the end, this brought great trouble 
upon both his mother and himself. 

Caius was proud of his mother, and proud of belong- 
ing to the noblest class in the city ; and from his earliest 
youth, he tried to make himself worthy of both. At 
that time, almost the only training of a Roman youth 
was for war, and the stories say that Caius labored so 
faithfully to learn the use of weapons, and to make his 
body strong, that there was soon no youth in the city 
who could equal him. 

At last, the time came when Caius Marcius went to 
his first battle, and in this he proved himself to be a 
good fighter, although he was still almost a boy. He 
came back to his mother with a crown of oak leaves 
upon his head, which was the way in which the Romans 
honored those of their soldiers who had not only 
fought bravely in battle, but who had also succeeded in 
saving the life of a Roman citizen. 



56 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

You may be sure that the heart of the lady Veturia 
was glad and proud, when she saw her son riding home 
to her from his first battle, with the wreath of honor 
upon his brow. But she had still greater cause to 
rejoice later, for, as time went on, and Caius was called 
to fight for his city again and again, she never once 
saw him return without honors and rewards. And his 
greatest pleasure in his honors was the pride and 
delight which his mother took in them. 

At one time, when Marcius was fighting with the 
Roman army, they were besieging the city of Corioli, 
in the country of the Volscians. As the soldiers 
lay camped about the city, they heard that a large 
force was marching to attack them from behind. 
The consul, who was leading the Romans, did not 
wish to be caught between the walls of Corioli and 
a fresh army, and thus be attacked on both sides at 
once. So he divided the army into two parts, and 
left the smaller part to watch the town, while he 
marched against the army of the Volscians with the 
other. 

When the people of Corioli saw that only a small part 
of the Roman army was left to lay siege to their city, 
they came rushing out from their gates to attack them. 
The Romans were driven back, and they would have 
been defeated if it had not been for Marcius. So 
fiercely did he attack the enemy that they were forced 
to give way before him. Then he encouraged his 
companions to pursue the flying soldiers to their city 
gates. Even there he was not willing to stop, but, still 
urging his men onward, he rushed into Corioli after 
the defeated enemy, and kept them at bay, and the 



THE STORY OF CORIOLANUS. 57 

gates open, until the rest of the army could come tip 
and take the city. 

Then, as though he had done nothing to give him 
need of rest, he led a part of the men to help the 
consul in his fight against the Volscians. They arrived 
just as the battle was beginning, and fought bravely 
with the others until the victory was won. After the 
battle was over, Marcius was offered much rich booty 
as a reward, but this he would not take. He accepted 
only the horse of the consul, which was pressed upon 
him as a gift, and asked but one favor. 

kt I have one request to make," he said, "and this I 
hope you will not deny me. There is a friend of mine 
among the Volscian prisoners, a man of virtue, who 
has often entertained me at his house. He has lost his 
wealth and his freedom, and is now to be sold as a com- 
mon slave. Let me beg that this may not be done, 
and that I may be allowed to save him from this last 
misfortune. " 

The consul granted this request, and Marcius 
returned to Rome with no other reward than this for 
his brave deed. But, in honor of what he had done, 
the people gave him a third name, which was formed 
from that of the city which he had taken ; and, after 
this, he was called Caius Marcius Coriolanus. His 
mother, who was as proud as Coriolanus himself, must 
have been better pleased with this title for her son 
than if he had brought home a great treasure to enrich 
the family. 

If Coriolanus could have been always with the army, 
doing such brave deeds, the rest of his story might have 
been very different. But, as he was a Roman patri- 



58 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

cian, he was not only a soldier, but one of the rulers of 
the city as well. The proud, fierce temper, which 
Marcius had shown even in his boyhood, began to exhibit 
itself more and more plainly as he grew to be an older 
man and took more part in the affairs of the city. 

He thought that only the patricians should have part 
in the government of Rome, and he hated the tribunes, 
who could stop the patrician consuls by their veto. 
This made the plebeians fear him, and, though the 
nobles admired him for his courage, and wished to 
make him consul, the people refused to elect him. 
Marcius was bitterly angry over this defeat, and was 
never willing to forget that he had been so slighted 
after his services to the city. 

Then a time came when the dislike which Coriolanus 
had for the plebeians made him do an unwise thing, 
which proved to be his ruin. 

On account of the many wars which had laid waste 
the fields, there was not enough grain raised on the 
lands of Rome to feed her people ; and the consuls sent 
even as far as Sicily for corn to keep the city from 
famine until the next harvest time. When the grain 
came to Rome, it seemed to bring more trouble than 
comfort to the starving citizens; for Coriolanus pro- 
posed to the Senate that they should not allow the poor 
people to receive the grain until they had promised to 
give up their tribunes, and be governed entirely by the 
patricians, as before. Some of the senators were wise 
enough to see that this would never do, and when the 
people arose, and threatened the Senate, it gave way 
in spite of Coriolanus, and allowed the corn to be sold 
at a low price. 



THE STORY OF CORIOLANUS. 59 

But the people were not satisfied with receiving their 
grain. They now so feared and hated Coriolanus, for 
having tried to starve them into giving up their rights, 
that they would no longer have him in their city. He 
was brought to trial by the tribunes, and the people 
sentenced him to banishment for life from Rome. 

Coriolanus went away with his heart full of bitter- 
ness. He could not see that he had been wrong, and 
he felt only hatred now for the Roman people, who, as 
it seemed to him, had abused and mistreated him. He 
went, therefore, to the country of the Volscians, 
against whom he had fought so many battles for the 
Romans. At the fall of night, he came to the house of 
one of their chiefs. There he entered and seated him- 
self as a suppliant at the hearth, with his mantle cover- 
ing his face. He had such an air of pride and sorrow 
that the members of the family did not dare to question 
him, but sent for Tullus, the master of the house. 
Tullus immediately went to him, and asked him who 
he was and for what purpose he had come to him. 
Then Coriolanus arose and threw the covering from 
his head, and looked him proudly in the face. 

"Do you not remember me?' he said. "I am that 
Caius Marcius who has brought so much trouble upon 
the Volscians. If I were to deny this, my name of 
Coriolanus would still declare me your enemy. That 
name is the one thing which I received in reward "for 
my perils and hardships in battles, and it is the one 
thing that the Romans have left me, as they send me 
forth an exile. Now I come, an humble suppliant at 
your hearth, not for protection, but for revenge. Let 
me lead your people against the Romans, and you will 



60 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

have the advantage of a general who knows all the 
secrets of your enemies. If I may not do this, let me 
perish as your foe, for I no longer wish to live." 

Tullus was rejoiced to give him what he asked, and 
soon Coriolanus marched against Rome with a Volscian 
army at his back. When he came near the city, the 
Romans were seized with fear, for they felt too weak 
to contend against the Volscians, when led by Corio- 
lanus. 

The senators and the people, therefore, agreed to 
send messengers to Coriolanus, offering to restore him 
to his place at Rome, and begging him not to bring the 
terror and distress of war upon his city. These mes- 
sengers were chosen from among the friends and rela- 
tives of Coriolanus, in order that they might have 
more influence with him. But he treated them 
harshly, as if he had altogether forgotten his former 
love for them, and no peace could be settled upon. 
Then the Romans sent all the priests of Rome, clothed 
in their sacred robes, to beg for peace ; but they also 
were turned away. 

Then the city was given over to despair, for the 
people felt that there was no cruelty of the harshest 
enemy that could be compared with the fierce wrath of 
the exiled Coriolanus. The old men knelt weeping at 
the altars of the gods, and the women ran wailing 
through the streets of the city. But Veturia, the 
mother of Coriolanus, gathered about her the wife of 
her son, his children, and the noblest women of the 
town, and set out for the camp of the Volscians to try 
what she could do. 

Coriolanus saw the company of Roman women mov- 



THE STORY OF CORIOLANUS. 61 

ing as suppliants through his camp, but he watched 
them unmoved, until he recognized his mother at 
their head. Then his proud soul was shaken, and he 
ran to her with his arms outstretched, as though he 
were the little Caius once more. But his mother drew 
back and spoke sternly and sadly to him. 

"Do I behold you, my son," she cried, "in arms 
against the walls of Rome? Tell me, before I receive 
your embrace, whether I am in your camp as a captive 
or as your mother. Does length of life give me only 
this, to behold my son an exile and an enemy? If I 
had not been a mother, Rome would not have been 
besieged! If I had not had a son, I might die free, in 
a free country! But be sure of this, my son, that you 
shall not be able to reach your country to harm it, 
unless you first cross the body of your mother. ' ' 

As Veturia spoke these words, she threw herself 
down upon the ground at the feet of Coriolanus, as a 
suppliant before her own son. But Marcius, weeping, 
raised her from the earth, and cried: 

"O Mother! what is this that you have done to me! 
You have saved Rome, but destroyed your son. I go, 
conquered by you alone." 

Then Coriolanus led his army away from Rome; and 
it is said that he met his death at the hands of the dis- 
appointed Volscians. Veturia returned in loneliness 
to Rome, mourning for her beloved son ; but she held 
him less dear than she did her country's freedom. 



62 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



IX 

The Family of the Fabii. * 

THE family of the Fabii, and, indeed, all the families 
of Rome, were very different from our own 
American families, or any others that you may know 
about. You think of your family as being made 
up of your father and mother, brothers and sisters, 
and, it may be, a grandfather or a grandmother 
who lives with you. You have other relatives, of 
course, — aunts, uncles, and cousins; but perhaps these 
live far away in some other part of the country, and 
you may know very little about them. Even if you 
have a family of cousins living in the same town with 
you, you do not think of them as belonging to your own 
family, as your brothers and sisters do. 

This was all very different in the city of Rome. 
There the families were held closer together than with 
us, and cousins that were so distantly related that we 
should scarcely think them cousins at all, were all 
counted in the great family to which their fathers and 
grandfathers and great-grandfathers had belonged for 
centuries before them. This made the families very 

*Many Latin words ended in the letters "us" in the singular 
number. To make the plural of such words, the "us" was 
changed to "i." In this way, the name "FablUS," in the singular 
number, becomes "Fabii" when we wish to speak of more than 
<>ne person. 



THE FAMILY OF THE FAB II. 63 

large, — as large, perhaps, as your own would be if you 
could go back through all your grandfathers to the first 
one who came to America, and then should gather 
together all the persons in the country to-day who are 
related to him, however distantly. 

If you will only think for a moment of how many 
this might be, you will not be surprised to find that the 
family of the Fabii, counting men, women and chil- 
dren, is supposed to have contained many hundreds of 
persons. Of course, all these people did not live in 
the same house, as we think of families doing to-day, 
for that would have been impossible. But they all 
bore the name of Fabius, and they all obeyed the 
head of their family more readily than sons nowadays 
obey their own fathers. 

The Fabii belonged to the patrician class, and were 
richer and more powerful than any other family in 
Rome ; so, year after year, some one of them was sure 
to be elected consul. At last, the common people grew 
weary of this, especially as the Fabii always opposed 
the tribunes in everything that they wished to do for 
the good of the people. The plebeians grew to dislike 
the Fabii so much that they were willing to do any- 
thing to distress and annoy them. 

While the people were in this humor, Kaeso Fabius, 
who was then one of the consuls, led the Roman army 
against the enemy. He left the city with his horsemen 
and foot soldiers, and drew up his men before the 
enemy's camp. He was a good general, and every- 
thing was well arranged for the battle, when he gave 
the signal for the attack; but, at the command, the 
cavalry alone, who were all patricians or rich men, 



64 THE CITY OF THE SEYEX HILLS. 

obeyed and went against the foe. The plebeians, who 
were the foot soldiers, hated their consuls so much that 
they stood still and refused to go forward and take their 
part in the battle. They did this, not because they 
were afraid to fight, but because they wished to see 
their consul go back to Rome disgraced by defeat. 

Though the Fabii were proud and haughty men, they 
now saw that they had gone too far in their harshness 
toward the common people. 

When some of Rome's neighbors heard of this 
trouble at Rome, they agreed that this would be a good 
time to lead their forces against the city and make an 
end of the Romans altogether. So, during the next 
year, another force, from several cities, came marching 
together against Rome. 

The Roman Senate was greatly distressed at this, 
for one of the consuls was again a Fabius, and they had 
no way of making sure that the soldiers would not 
behave in the same way that they had done the year 
before. Indeed, the soldiers left home with a sullen 
look, as though they were determined to show their 
anger again, even at the risk of bringing ruin upon 
the city. For this reason, the consuls were afraid to 
trust their men in battle, and when they came near 
the enemy, they pitched their camp, and fortified it, 
and quietly kept their soldiers within it. 

Day by day, and week by week, the army lay within 
its camp. The enemies of the Romans now began to 
think that there was trouble again between the patri- 
cians and the people, and that the soldiers had again 
refused to fight. They were delighted at this, and felt 
as though the victory was already won. Often they 



THE FAMILY OF THE FABII. 65 

would come close to the Roman camp and scoff at the 
soldiers who lay within. 

"You pretend to disagree," they would call, mock- 
ingly, "so that you may not show how afraid of us you 
are. Your consuls fear to lead you to battle, for they 
distrust your courage even more than your obedience." 

The Romans could not endure these insults for very 
long. Soon, the men who had come out of Rome 
determined not to fight, were begging their consuls to 
lead them against the enemy. But Fabius did not 
think that they were ready yet ; so he only replied : 

"The time has not yet come." 

The soldiers were still forced to remain closely in 
their camp, and listen yet longer to the taunting cries 
of the enemy, who called "Cowards, cowards," and, at 
last, threatened to attack the camp itself. Then, when 
Fabius saw that the Romans could no longer be kept 
from attacking the enemy who insulted them, he drew 
the army up and said to them : 

"Soldiers, I know that you are able to conquer these 
men who mock you; but what makes me hesitate to 
give battle is the doubt whether you will do it, or will 
stand still in the face of the enemy, as you did last year. 
I have, therefore, determined not to give the signal for 
battle until you will swear by the gods that you will 
return victorious. Our soldiers have once deceived 
the Roman consuls; the gods they will never deceive." 

Then one of the foremost soldiers raised his hand and 
cried: 

"Fabius, I will return victorious from the field or die 
upon it. If I deceive you, may the anger of Jupiter, 
Mars, and all the gods be upon me." 



66 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

Following his example, the whole army took the 
same oaths. They were then led forth to battle, and, 
after a hard fight, during which the soldiers were faith- 
ful to the last, they defeated the enemy. 

After this, the Fabian family tried rather to favor 
the poorer people than to be harsh and stern in their 
treatment of them. Kaeso Fabius ordered all the sol- 
diers who were wounded in this battle to be cared for 
in the houses of the rich ; and in the homes of the 
Fabii, these men were treated more kindly than any- 
where else. In this way, little by little, the people for- 
got their hatred of the Fabii, and began to look upon 
them as their friends. And the Fabii soon proved 
that, however proud they might be, they were willing 
to give everything for the safety of their city. 

There came a time when all the enemies of Rome 
seemed to be taking up arms against her at once, and 
the people were over-burdened with the preparations 
for meeting so many enemies, in so many different 
directions. As the Senate was anxiously discussing 
the means of meeting the danger, Kaeso Fabius arose, 
and, speaking for all the Fabian family, he said : 

"Fathers, do you attend to the other wars. Appoint 
the Fabii as the enemies of the Veientians. We pledge 
ourselves that the honor of the Roman name shall be 
safe in that quarter. And, as we ask this war for our 
family, it is our plan to conduct it at our own expense. 
For the city, which is so burdened with other dangers, 
should be spared the expense of soldiers and of supplies 
in this direction." 

The Senate accepted this offer with joy and thank- 
fulness, and the next day the Fabii left the town. 



THE FAMILY OF THE FABII. 67 

There were three hundred and six men, all patricians 
and all Fabit, in this little army. The people, quite 
forgetting- their former dislike of the family, followed 
them through the streets of the city; and, at the altar 
of each god, they begged that the brave men might go 
forth to victory, and return safely to their homes once 
more. 

These prayers, however, were all in vain. No one 
of that little company ever came back to Rome. They 
went forth and built a fort facing the lands of their 
enemies, and they kept them in check for many 
months. But at last they were surprised and overcome 
by them, and all of the army of the Fabii were killed. 

Only one boy, who had been too young to go with his 
relatives, remained of that great family of brave men. 
But this boy became, in time, the head of another 
Fabian family, which was to win as much honor at 
Rome as the one that had been destroyed. 



68 THE CITY OF THE SEVEX HILLS. 



X 

The Victory of Cincinnatus. 

ON the slopes of the mountains east of Rome, there 
lived a sturdy people called the ^Equians. The 
Romans had to struggle with this people for many years 
after the driving out of their kings. As soon as one 
war with them was ended, another was sure to begin ; 
and it was during one of these wars that a Roman 
named Cincinnatus made his name so famous that the 
Roman people loved to tell his story as long as their 
city lasted. 

It happened once that a band of these ^Equians 
marched into the Roman lands, and began to burn and 
plunder on every side. Now, a treaty of peace had 
been made between the Romans and the ^fSquians just 
the year before; so the Senate sent messengers to the 
intruders, to complain of their conduct. 

When the messengers reached the camp of the 
^quians, they found the chiefs of the band sitting in 
the shade of a great oak tree. 

"Why do you come into our lands," the messengers 
asked, ''making war in time of peace, and breaking the 
treaty which you have made with us? The Roman 
Senate demands that you make a return for what you 
have destroyed, and leave the country in peace." 

The leader of the ^Equians would hear no more than 
this. 



THE VICTORY OF CINCINNATUS. 69 

"The Roman Senate!" he exclaimed in scorn. 
"Deliver to this oak tree whatever instructions you 
have brought from the Roman Senate, and in the mean- 
time, I will attend to other matters!" And he turned 
away to leave them. 

Then the Roman messengers also prepared to depart, 
for they saw that nothing could be done in the way of 
a peaceful settlement. But, as they turned to go, one 
of them cried: 

"Let both this sacred oak and all the gods be witnesses 
that the treaty is broken by you ; and so may they help 
our arms presently, when we shall seek to avenge our- 
selves. " 

Then they went away, and soon a Roman consul led 
an army against the ^quians. This consul was not a 
brave and ready man, as most of the Romans were, and 
the ^Equians soon discovered that he was afraid to come 
to battle with them. Then they laid siege to his camp, 
and by throwing up earthworks around it, they had 
the army safe as if in a trap. Five of the Romans, 
however, succeeded in passing through the lines of the 
enemy, and hurried to the city with the news that the 
army was surrounded. 

When the Romans heard this news, they were struck 
with dismay. The Senate was hurriedly called 
together, and they decided that a Dictator must be 
appointed; and Lucius Quintius, who was called "Cin- 
cinnatus, " on account of his crisp, curly hair, was the 
one whom they chose for that office. 

Cincinnatus, though he was a good soldier and a 
patrician, was a poor man, and tilled his own little farm 
of four acres on the other side of the River Tiber. 



7o 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



When the messengers of the Senate came, early in the 
morning, to announce to him that he had been ap- 
pointed Dictator, they found him ploughing in the fields 
without his "toga," or gown. Before telling him their 
business, they bade him leave his work, and put on his 
toga, that he might listen with due respect to the com- 
mands of the Senate. 

At this, Cincinnatus was astonished, and, asking 
frequently whether anything was the matter, he 




ROMAN PLOUGH. 



bade his wife bring his toga from his cottage. Then 
washing himself free from the dust and sweat of his 
work, he wrapped himself in his gown, as though he 
were in the Senate house, and listened to the mes- 
sengers. 

They saluted him as Dictator, and, explaining the 
terror that ruled in the city, they bade him come to Rome 
and take the command. Cincinnatus obeyed, and went 
with them to the city, where he was met at the gates 
by his sons; and with twenty-four lictors marching on 
before him, he was escorted to his house in the city. 



THE VICTORY OF CINCINNATUS. 7* 

When the next day dawned, Cincinnatus went into the 
assembly of the people, and commanded all business 
to be stopped, and forbade any one from attending to 
his own affairs. Then he commanded that all who 
were of the age to act as soldiers should come together 
in the Field of Mars before sunset, with their arms, and 
with food for five days ; and he ordered that each should 
bring with him twelve large wooden stakes. Those 
who were too old to act as soldiers he ordered to pre- 
pare the food for the other men, while these were busy 
cutting the stakes. 

When the appointed time came, the men set out, with 
Cincinnatus marching before them, and bidding them 
hasten. 

"The consul and his army have now been besieged 
three days," he said. 4 'It is uncertain what each day 
and night may bring with it. You must hasten, that 
we may reach the camp this very night, for often the 
gain of a moment will change defeat into victory." 

And the men, to please their leader and encourage 
themselves, called to one another: 

"Follow, soldiers! Hasten on!" 

At midnight they reached the camp, where the 
^Equians were laying siege to the Romans. Cincin- 
natus first rode all around the place in order to dis- 
cover, as well as he could in the darkness, how it was 
arranged. Then he drew his men silently in a long 
column around the camp, and directed that when the 
signal should be given, they should all raise a shout, 
and begin digging a trench and driving their stakes 
before it for defense. 

When all was ready, the signal was given ; and their 



72 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

shout rose through the silent night, terrifying the 
^Equians, and carrying joy to the hearts of the 
imprisoned consul and his army. These sprang to 
their feet, crying: 

"That is the shout of our countrymen! Help is at 
hand! Let us also attack the enemy!" 

Then the imprisoned Romans seized their arms, and 
rushed upon the ^Equians just as they were turning to 
attack the soldiers of Cincinnatus. It was scarcely day- 
light before the Romans had conquered ; for the ^Equians 
were attacked from both sides at once, and were fight- 
ing unknown numbers in the darkness of the night. 

After the battle was over, the enemies of the 
Romans were not destroyed, for Cincinnatus said : 

"I want not the blood of the ^Equians. Let them 
depart in peace. But, before they go, we must have a 
confession that their nation is defeated and subdued. 
They must all pass under the yoke." 

Then he ordered two spears to be driven into the 
earth, and a third one fastened across their tops; and 
under this all the ^Equi were obliged to pass, without 
their arms, and with but one garment on their backs. 
This was meant to show to all the world that the 
^Equians were now as peaceful and subdued as the 
patient oxen that ploughed the Roman fields with the 
yoke upon their necks. 

Cincinnatus then prepared to return to Rome at once. 
He gave all the booty of the camp of the ^Equians to 
his own soldiers, and punished the consul for his 
cowardice by giving him and his soldiers nothing. 

When they reached the city, they found it full of joy 
at the rescue of its army. The Senate voted that Cin- 



THE VICTORY OF CINCINNATUS. 73 

cinnatus should enter Rome in triumph. So he 
marched into the city by the "Gate of Triumph," with 
the chiefs of the ^Equians led before him, and the 
standards of the army carried around his car. The sol- 
diers followed after, loaded down with their booty. 
Tables, covered with provisions, are said to have been 
laid out before the houses of all, and the soldiers were 
fed in abundance, as they followed the car of their 
general with shouts and rejoicing. 

Cincinnatus, however, was not made over-proud by 
his great victory and by the honor that was shown 
him afterwards. On the sixteenth day after he had 
received the command, he laid down his power, and 
returned to his little farm and his ploughing; and he 
has been as much admired for this act as for his great 
success as a general. 

At the close of the Revolutionary War, which made 
our country free from England, Washington and his 
companions did the same thing which you see Cincin- 
natus doing so many centuries before them. They 
gave up their places as generals and officers in the 
army, and went peacefully back to their farms and 
shops again. They thought of Cincinnatus at that 
time, and of how they were following his example; 
and they joined together and formed a society which 
they called the "Society of the Cincinnati," after this 
old Roman. This society, in its turn, gave its name to a 
city which bears it yet, the city of Cincinnati, in the 
state of Ohio. From this you can see how long a man's 
name may last in the world, if he is only strong and 
noble enough to do something which people will be 
glad to remember always. 



74 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



XI 

The Laws of the Twelve Tables. 

AS you read these tales of Tarquin and Horatius, 
Coriolanus, and Cincinnatus, you may think, per- 
haps, that the teaching of King Numa was wasted, and 
that the Romans after him did nothing but fight, and 
studied nothing but the art of winning battles. Almost 
all of the oldest stories that have come down to us tell 
us only of the defeat or victory of a Roman army, — for 
that seemed the one important thing to the men who 
wrote the records. This, however, did not make up 
all the life of the Roman people. They were some- 
thing else besides soldiers: they were citizens of Rome, 
and were members of family groups; and much might 
have been told us about their life in the city of which 
we shall always be ignorant. 

The wisest men among the Romans at this time knew 
very little about the world, even as it was then; and 
they could never have imagined, if they had tried ever 
so hard, what the boys and girls, who would be living- 
more than two thousand years after they were dead, 
would like to know about them. They only thought, 
as they wrote their records, that by the favor of the 
gods their city should last forever, and that, after many 
years, their own people might have forgotten when 
some city was taken, or how some army had been 
destroyed. So they wrote down these facts, and made 



THE LAWS OF THE TWELVE TABLES. 75 

them as lasting as they could ; and they did not imagine 
that, after twenty centuries, people would rather know 
more of how they bought and sold in their market- 
places, and prayed in their temples, and behaved to one 
another in their homes, than so much about their little 
armies, and the towns that they captured, and the 
fields of their enemies that they laid waste. 

The story of the Twelve Tables of the Law, however, 
is not about battles; and in it you will hear of no 
consul leading his soldiers out of the city to meet the 
enemy, and of no Dictator returning in triumph, after 
winning a victory for his country. It is not a tale of 
war, but of the beginning of written laws among the 
Romans, and it is a much nobler story for the Roman 
people than that of any of their battles. 

When we Americans speak of the Law, we think of 
the laws which are printed in many books, and which 
are used by our judges and lawyers in trying cases in 
our courts. The Romans, at first, did not know any- 
thing of this kind of law. Such laws as they had were 
all unwritten, and were only known to the patricians who 
had handed them down by word of mouth from father 
to son, for many hundreds of years. The common 
people did not know them, and they had no way of 
finding out what was right for them to do, except by 
asking some one who had been taught the law from 
his early youth. 

This might not have been so hard for the common 
people if all the patricians had learned the same law, 
and used their knowledge justly. But there were many 
different rules about the same thing, and the men who 
wished to be unfair could choose the law that would be 



76 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

most to their advantage, and of the least help to the 
people who appealed to them. By this unfair dealing 
the people were often misled and treated very unjustly 
in their dealings with the patricians; but as they did 
not know the law, and had no way of learning it, they 
could do' nothing to help themselves. 

It was one of the tribunes of the people who at last 
tried to aid them by giving them the knowledge that 
was lacking to them. He proposed that all the laws of 
Rome should be gathered together and published, so 
that the people could understand what they must and 
must not do, and so avoid making mistakes because of 
ignorance. The patricians of Rome were opposed to 
this, for they did not wish the knowledge of the law to 
be given to the plebeians. They felt that this would 
be giving up even more of their rights over the people 
than they had surrendered when the people were 
brought back from the Sacred Mount and given their 
tribunes to protect them. 

For this reason, the Senate refused to consent to the 
publishing of the law. But the people had now 
learned to be as firm in what they demanded as the 
Senate. Year after year, they elected only those men 
for tribunes who promised to help them in this strug- 
gle; and year after year, the tribunes continued to 
demand patiently and firmly the publication of the 
laws. It was ten years, however, before the Senate 
finally gave up the struggle, and allowed the people to 
have their own way. 

Then they all agreed upon a curious thing. They 
changed their whole government for the time during 
which the laws were to be written; and instead of elect- 



THE LAWS OF THE TWELVE TABLES. 77 

ing consuls and tribunes, as usual, they chose ten men 
who were both to govern the city and to get the laws 
ready for the people. 

After working together for some time over their 
task, these men called the people together and said to 
them: 

"We have written the laws as justly toward the high- 
est and the lowest as it can be done by the considera- 
tion of ten men. The understanding and advice of a 
greater number might prove more successful. We bid 
you, therefore, go and read the laws that are placed 
before you, and consider them in your own minds in 
each particular, and talk together concerning them, in 
order that you may discover everything in which they 
are at fault. For we wish you to seem not to have 
accepted the laws proposed for you, but to have pro- 
posed them for yourselves." 

Then the people did as they were bidden, and when 
all the faults of the laws seemed to have been cor- 
rected, they were approved by the assembly of the 
people; and they were published so that all men 
might see them. 

But perhaps you will ask: "How could they be 
published, if there were no printing presses and books 
among the Romans, such as we have now?" 

The Romans used a simple plan, but one that 
answered very well. They carved their laws upon 
twelve tablets of bronze, and then hung them in their 
market-place, or Forum, as they called it, on the sides 
of the stand where the Romans took their places when 
they wished to make a speech to the assembly of the 
people. 



78 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

Here, in this public place, every man who could read 
was free to come and study them. As the Forum was 
the busiest place in Rome, where each citizen came at 
some time during almost every day of his life in the 
city, you will see that, after this, they lived with their 
laws constantly before their eyes. The boys, too, were 
obliged to learn the Twelve Tables by heart, as part 
of their education, and we may easily believe that it 
was not hard for a bright boy, who would be glad for 
an excuse to linger in the bustling Forum, to learn the 
whole contents of the tables before he was very old. 
Certainly, there was no excuse now for the Romans of 
any class not to know what was lawful and unlawful ; 
and in this way a nobler thing had been done than if 
the Romans had conquered many cities, and sold their 
peoples into slavery. 

These bronze tablets of the law have not come down 
to us through the centuries, as some of the Roman 
buildings have done. They were broken and destroyed 
long ago; but most of their contents have been pre- 
served for us in the writings of the later Romans. 
Some of these laws seem very strange to us now, who 
are living with such different manners and customs; 
and this, perhaps, is most true of the laws that con- 
cern the family. 

The father of the Roman family was like a ruler in 
a little kingdom all his own, in which no one, not even 
the consul, could interfere. He could do exactly as 
he pleased with his wife and his children and his 
servants. His children never grew up and became 
independent of their father, as you will be of your 
father when you become of age. The Roman father 



THE LAWS OF THE TWELVE TABLES. 79 

kept his power over his sons and daughters until the 
day of his death, and the laws even allowed him to sell 
his children as slaves, or to hire them out to work for 
his profit, whether they wished to do so or not. 

But, besides the laws which seem to us so strange, 
there were many which seem much more reasonable. 
Among these was one which declared that if a tree 
overhung the ground of a neighbor, the neighbor 
might take the fruit that dropped on his side of the 
line. If any one cut down the trees which belonged to 
another, he must pay twenty-five pounds of copper for 
each tree. If any one turned cattle into a neighbor's 
grain field, or cut down his grain by night, he was to 
be severely punished. 

As time went on, some of the laws of the twelve 
tables were changed among the Romans, and a great 
many others were added to them. Then it became 
impossible for any one to learn all of the laws by 
heart, and at last the boys ceased to learn even the 
laws of the twelve tables. But the main principles of 
the Roman law remained the same under every 
change ; the laws were only made clearer, and juster, 
and better fitted to the changes in the world to which 
they were to be applied. So the Roman law survived 
when almost everything else of the Roman rule had 
passed away, and it is the foundation of the law of 
many nations of the world to this day. 



So THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



XII 

How Camillus Captured Veii. 

ABOUT twenty miles north of Rome was a large 
and powerful city called Veii, with which the 
Romans were often at war. It was in a struggle with 
this city that the Fabii had been destroyed ; and after 
that many other wars followed, until, about a hundred 
years after the kings were driven from Rome, a strug- 
gle began in which the Romans at last conquered their 
old enemy. 

This was the fourteenth war between Rome and 
Veii. When the Romans had laid siege to the town for 
eight long years, and it seemed as though they would 
never be able to conquer it, the Senate and the people 
all became discouraged. Then a strange thing hap- 
pened to make them more disturbed. 

About as far south of Rome as Veii was north of it, 
was a lake called the Alban Lake, which was com- 
pletely surrounded by hills, and had no inlet or outlet 
for its waters. News now came to Rome that the 
water of this lake had suddenly begun to rise higher 
and higher, without any heavy rains, or any other 
cause that could be discovered. The Romans, there- 
fore, imagined that this was a miracle which was per- 
formed by the gods; and to find out the meaning of it, 
they sent messengers to the Oracle of the god Apollo, 
at Delphi. But before these messengers had returned, 



HOW CAMILLUS CAPTURED VEIL 81 

the Romans received an explanation of the matter from 
the Veientians themselves. 

As often happens in long- sieges, the soldiers of the 
two armies had got in the habit of calling - back and 
forth at one another. One day, as they were doing this, 
an old man stood upon the walls of Veii and declared, 
like one uttering a prophecy, that "until the waters 
should be discharged from the Alban Lake, the 
Romans should never become the masters of Veii." 

One of the Roman soldiers caught at this saying 
eagerly, thinking that perhaps it showed a way for 
them to become at last victorious. He persuaded the 
old man to come out from the walls, and talk with him 
in the open ground before the Roman camp; then, 
when they were alone, he seized him boldly about the 
waist, and carried him by main force into the camp. 
From there he was taken to the Senate at Rome ; and 
here he was ordered to repeat the prophecy which he 
had spoken upon the walls of his city. He replied: 

"The gods were angry with the Veientian people, 
that day, when they bade me show the way to ruin my 
country, from the walls of Veii. But, since it seemed 
to them well for me to speak it, it is better said than 
unsaid. It is written in the books of the fates that 
whenever the Alban water shall rise to a great height, 
and the Romans shall discharge it in the proper man- 
ner, victory will be granted to them. Until that is 
done, the gods will not desert the walls of Veii." 

When the Romans found that the answer of the 
Oracle of Apollo agreed with the statement of the old 
man, they set eagerly to work to do what was required 
of them. 



82 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

While some remained with the army to watch about 
the walls of Veii, others worked at the Alban Lake. 
There they cut a great tunnel through the rock of the 
hills, to make a passage for the imprisoned waters; and 
the remains of that tunnel can be seen to this day. 
Then ditches were dug through the country, and the 
water of the lake was let out upon the fields. This was 
in obedience to the commands of the Oracle, and by 
doing this the Romans believed that they prepared the 
way for the destruction of Veii. 

After all this was done, a Roman named Camillus 
was appointed Dictator, to complete the capture of the 
city. When he reached the place he withdrew the 
Romans into their camp, and kept them closely there, 
in order that there might be no chance for speech with 
the enemy. Then he began a tunnel which was to lead 
from the camp, under the walls of the city, and into 
the very citadel of the town. Day and night his sol- 
diers worked at this, each in his turn, so that no one 
should become exhausted by the hard labor. At last 
the work was all completed, except breaking through 
the last thin wall of earth, which would admit them 
into the city. 

The Veientians still laughed and shouted from their 
walls at the silent Romans, all unconscious that the 
Alban Lake had disappeared into the earth, and that 
their enemies were ready to pour into the city from 
their tunnel. But Camillus was certain of his victory, 
and having given orders for the soldiers to take their 
arms, he went forth to beg the help and favor of the 
gods. 

"Under thy guidance, O Apollo," he prayed, "I pro- 



HOW CAM1LLUS CAPTURED VEIL 83 

ceed to destroy the city of Veil, and I vow to thee a 
tenth part of the spoil." 

Then some of the Romans attacked the walls. As 
the Veientians rushed to their defense, others of the 
Romans came out of the tunnel in the city and 
attacked them from behind. The Veientians were 
taken by surprise, and the Romans who were in the 
city soon succeeded in opening the gates of the town 
for their companions. In this way, the Romans soon 
won a complete victory. When the battle was over, 
the people of Veii were made slaves, and the town was 
stripped of all its treasures by the soldiers who had 
conquered it. 

Then the Romans prepared to remove the gods also 
from the captured city. A band of young men was 
chosen, and, with their bodies freshly washed in pure 
water, and clad in white garments, they took their way 
in a solemn procession to the temple of the great Juno. 
She was the especial god of the Veientians, and they 
entered her temple with fear and awe. When they 
stood before the image of the goddess, one of the com- 
pany asked: 

"O Juno, art thou willing to go to Rome?" 

The Romans believed that they saw the goddess bow 
her beautiful head in assent ; and they all shouted with 
joy at this favorable response. Then they took up the 
statue of the goddess and carried her to Rome; and 
the statue seemed light and easy to move, as though 
the goddess went with them willingly and of her own 
accord. 

For several years after this, the city of Veii was left 
standing with empty houses and temples, uncared for 



8 4 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



either by the gods or men. Some of the old neighbors 
of the Veientians, however, tried to make a stand 
against the Romans, even though Veii itself had fallen. 
So Camillus was sent against one of these cities, to lay 
siege to it, as he had done to Veii. 




JUNO. 



This place was also a strong city, and the people 
seemed likely to defend themselves as long and as 
bravely as the Veientians had done. But, one day, the 
war suddenly ceased, and peace was made, as a result 
of the just dealing of Camillus with the people of the 
besieged city. 

Several of the noblest families of the city had placed 
their boys in the charge of a schoolmaster, who was 



HOW CAMILLUS CAPTURED VEIL 85 

expected not only to teach them, but to care for them 
during their playtime also. Before the war began, 
this man had been in the habit of taking his boys 
beyond the city walls for play and exercise, and even 
when the city had been besieged he continued this 
custom. 

One day, when they had passed through the gates as 
usual for their romp in the open field, and while the 
boys were all absorbed in their rough play, their 
teacher led them little by little up to the Roman lines, 
and to the tent of Camillus. Then, as he came before 
the Roman general, he said: 

"Camillus, these are the children of the men who 
are highest in rank in the city. With them I deliver 
to you the city itself, for their rulers will be willing to 
sacrifice everything to regain their children; and I 
know that you will reward me for my deed." 

When Camillus heard these words, he cried out : 

"Wicked as thou art, thou hast not come with thy 
offering to a commander or a people like thyself. We 
do not carry arms against defenseless children, but 
against armed men." 

Then he ordered the man's arms to be tied behind 
his back; and he put rods in the boys' hands, and told 
them to flog their treacherous master back to the city; 
where he was punished as he well deserved to be. 

When the people of the city received their children 
again from Camillus, their feeling toward the Romans 
changed. Before this time, they had preferred the fate 
of the Veientians to making peace with the Romans, 
but now the virtue of Camillus filled them with admira- 
tion. They sent messengers to the Roman Senate, 



86 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

therefore, and surrendered themselves without further 
struggle, saying: 

"Fathers, we are overcome by your good faith, and 
we give the victory to you of our own free will. We 
believe that we shall live more happily under your rule 
than we do now under our own laws ; so send men to 
receive our arms, and our city." 

By two such victories as these, and many smaller 
ones, Camillus became one of the greatest of the 
Romans. The citizens were grateful to him for his 
services to the city, and they were certain that no one 
could lead the Roman armies so well as he. 

But Camillus was a proud man, and wished to rule 
the city as he did his army. Among other things, he 
was determined that the tenth part of the spoil of 
Veii should be given to Apollo, as he had promised 
before the battle, and this the people did not wish to 
do. But he forced it from them ; and then they asked 
him, in return, what right he had to the great bronze 
doors which he had brought from the conquered city, 
and placed before his own house. 

So Camillus and the people fell to quarreling, and, 
after a time, Camillus was forced to leave Rome. In 
rage and in sorrow, he went to find his home in another 
place ; but it was harder for him to bear than if he had 
lost his life in battle, for to be obliged to live in exile 
was worse than death to a Roman. 



THE COMING OF THE GAULS. 87 



XIII 

The Coming of the Gauls. 

IN all the wars which the Romans had fought up to 
this time, they had been fighting with people who 
were near neighbors to them, and who were like them- 
selves in speech, and manners, and ways of fighting. 
But six years after the capture of Veii, the Romans 
were called upon to meet a new race in battle, whose 
like they had never seen before, and at whose hands 
they met a terrible defeat. 

North of the peninsula of Italy, you will remember, 
and shutting it off from the rest of Europe, lies the 
great snowy chain of the Alps. These mountains are 
higher and more difficult to cross than any of the 
mountains of our own country ; but there are now many 
well-made wagon roads through the Alps, and even 
some railroads. In the early days of Rome, however, 
there were no such roads, and the great snow-covered 
ridges made a barrier which people rarely thought of 
crossing. The Romans knew nothing of the people 
who lived on the other side of the Alps, and would, 
perhaps, never have thought for many centuries longer, 
of climbing through their rough passes to find out what 
lay beyond them. 

But the peoples who lived north of these mountains 
were very different from the Italians, and were not 
held in one place by the love of their lands and homes. 



88 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



They had villages and towns of their own; but these 
were poor and ill-made, compared to the Italian cities, 
and the people were always ready to leave them to fol- 
low their chiefs into other countries to gain new pos- 
sessions. The Alps, too, are 
easier to climb from the 
north than from the south, 
for the slope on the northern 
side is much more gradual. 
So, some of these peoples 
found their way over into 
Italy while the Romans were 
still thinking only of their 
own city, and their little 
neighborhood wars. These 
tribes from the north had 
many different names among 
themselves, but the Italians 
usually called them by the 
name of 4 4 Gauls. " 

The Gauls were very dif- 
ferent in appearance from 
any people that the Italians 
had ever seen. The Romans 
and the other Italians were 
small people compared with 
the Gauls, and had black hair 
and eyes, and dark skins 
browned by the hot suns of the long Italian summers. 
The Gauls were from the north, where the milder 
sunlight and the cooler summers had left their hair 
and skins fair and their eyes blue. This was a eon- 




GALLIC SOLDIER. 



THE COMING OF THE GAULS. 89 

tinual wonder to the darker Italians; and, when we 
add that the Gauls were larger and heavier in body 
than the Italians, you will not be surprised to find that 
the Romans spoke with awe of the blue-eyed giants, for 
many years after the Gauls had all disappeared from 
the neighborhood of Rome. 

The dress of the Gauls was also strange to the 
Romans. They wore garments checked and striped in 
many colors, which remind us of the bright tartans in 
which the Highlanders of Scotland clothed them- 
selves for centuries, and of which they make some 
use even to this day. Indeed, the Highlanders are, 
perhaps, the most closely related to these ancient 
Gauls of any people now in the world, and only a 
few hundred years ago, they were using war-horns 
and swords in their battles very much like the ones 
that the Romans tell us the Gauls brought with them 
into Italy. 

The Gauls differed as much from the Romans in 
their manner of fighting as they did in their appear- 
ance. The Romans, during their long experience in 
warfare, had learned to draw up their soldiers in a 
regular form, with the cavalry and the infantry in fixed 
positions, and they always went into battle in an 
orderly manner. The Gauls never dreamed of any- 
thing like order in their fighting. Each man, with his 
broad, unpointed sword, and long shield, took his 
place in the great mass of his fellow soldiers; and, 
when the signal for battle came, they all rushed furi- 
ously at the enemy. Those who were behind pushed 
on those in front, if they showed signs of giving way, 
and their savage yells and the din of their horns terri- 



90 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

fied the enemy as much as the blows from their heavy 
swords. 

Some tribes of the Gauls had been settled in the north- 
ern part of Italy for a long- time before the Romans heard 
anything about them. You must understand by this 
time that the Romans lived in a much smaller world 
than ours is to-day. In a very short time, we now hear 
of almost everything that happens on the earth, — at 
least of everything within the reach of the railroads 
and the telegraph. But, in those days, the Romans 
had no way of getting word even from the different 
parts of Italy. 

So it was only when a band of the Gauls, — leaving 
their families behind them, with their relatives who 
had settled in the valley of the Po, — pushed down 
farther to the south, and crossed the Apennines, that 
they came to the knowledge of the Romans. 

These Gauls were terrible destroyers; and, as they 
went, they left a broad path behind them, in which 
there were only ruined towns, and fields bare of any 
sign of life. City after city fell into their hands; and 
when they came to the Tuscan town of Clusium, where 
Lars Porsena had ruled a century before, messengers 
were sent to Rome to beg for help against this new 
enemy. 

At first, Rome only replied to this request by send- 
ing three ambassadors to treat with the Gauls. When 
these ambassadors and the men of Clusium met the 
chiefs of the Gauls, they asked them why they had 
come in this manner into the country of another people. 

"We want land for those of us who have none," 
replied the Gauls, "and the men of Clusium have more 



THE COMING OF THE GAULS. 9* 

than they can use. Give us what we ask, and we will 
not make war upon you. ' ' 

Then the Romans cried out, thinking of their own 
lands, which might be asked for next: 

"What right have you to ask for land from the men 
of Clusium, and threaten war if they refuse it?" 

"We carry our right in our swords," the Gauls 
replied. "All things, belong to the brave. Do you 
stand by, O Romans, and see us decide this matter 
with our arms, and then carry home the story of how 
much the Gauls excel all other peoples in bravery." 

The people of Clusium could not endure this haughty 
speech. They refused the demand of the Gauls, and a 
battle almost immediately began. The Roman ambas- 
sadors, too, were angry, and this caused them to forget 
the law of nations, which does not allow ambassadors 
to fight. They entered the battle, side by side with 
the soldiers of Clusium, and one of the three killed a 
chieftain of the Gauls in the sight of both the armies. 

Then the Gauls were much enraged. With a sudden 
impulse, they gave up their attack on Clusium, and 
sent messengers to Rome to demand that the offenders 
should be given up to them for punishment; and when 
this was ref used, they marched straight upon that city. 

The Romans heard of their coming, and prepared to 
meet them, but not so carefully as they would have 
done if the Gauls had been the people of some neigh- 
boring city. They did not seem to think it worth while 
to appoint a Dictator, as they had so often done when 
other dangers threatened them. They did not realize 
that they would have to meet an enemy more difficult 
to face than any they had ever fought before. Perhaps 



92 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

they even despised the Gauls for their savage ways, 
and their clumsy weapons, of which they must have 
heard ; and thought that it would not be so difficult to 
defeat men who fought with their heads unprotected by 
helmets. But, if the Romans despised the Gauls before 
they met them, they learned from them one great les- 
son, — that it is never safe to scorn an enemy, until you 
have learned what he can do. 

When the Gauls had come as near as the eleventh 
milestone from the city, the Romans went out to meet 
them with a large army. The battle took place on the 
banks of a little stream which flows into the river 
Tiber. There the Romans drew up their army in a 
long line, as they were in the habit of doing when they 
met their Italian enemies. But this was not the way in 
which to meet the Gauls. 

As you know, the Gauls had but one way in which 
to fight, and that was to rush blindly at their enemy, 
careless whether they met death or not. It was in this 
way that they charged at the Roman line. With their 
horns blowing and their shouts rising in a fearful roar, 
they dashed in a great mass at the Roman army, and 
went through the line of brave soldiers with a rush that 
could not be resisted. The Romans were divided into 
two parts, as if a wedge had been driven through their 
lines; and, terrified at the savage attack and their sud- 
den defeat, they fled blindly, as they had so often 
caused their own enemies to flee. 

The greater part of the Roman army was cut off from 
Rome by the force of the Gauls, and the men were 
obliged to throw themselves into the Tiber, and swim 
to the other shore, where they took refuge behind the 



THE COMING OF THE GAULS. 93 

walls of the deserted city of Veii. The smaller part 
retreated in a panic to Rome ; and, rushing through 
the city, without stopping even to close the gates, the 
defeated soldiers made their way into the citadel on 
the Capitol, which was the strongest hill of Rome. 

The Gauls did not pursue them. They were amazed 
at their sudden success, and they hesitated to go on, 
for fear lest there might be some trap prepared for 
them. They turned back, to gather up the arms of 
the Roman dead; and then they spent their time in 
dividing the spoil and feasting. As a result of this, it 
was not until the third day after the battle, — in the hot 
days of July, three hundred and ninety years before 
Christ was born, — that the army of the Gauls appeared 
before the gates of Rome. 



94 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



M 



XIV 

The Gauls in Rome. 

EANWHILE, all was terror and dismay in Rome. 
Only a handful of men had returned out of the 
army that had marched out on the day of the battle. 
But the Romans had not only to sorrow for the dead ; 
they had also to fear for the living; for the men who 
remained in Rome were too few to defend the wide 
extent of the city walls against the attack of these 
fierce barbarians. 

So, without making any attempt to defend the wall, 
the Romans determined to make their stand on the 
Capitol. This was a rocky hill, in the midst of the 
city, and it was well fitted for defense. Its sides 
were so steep, except on the one side up which the 
road wound, that it seemed as though no enemy 
could climb them. Upon it was a well, to give 
them water; and there, too, were the temples of the 
gods, to protect and encourage the Romans in their 
defense. 

While the Gauls gathered their spoil and feasted, the 
Romans hastened to bring provisions to this place and 
prepare it to withstand a siege. Not all of the people, 
however, could find refuge here. No one was wanted 
on the Capitol who could not do his share in its 
defense ; the women and the children, and the people 
untrained to arms, would only have taken the food 



TUB GAULS IN ROME. 95 

from the mouths of those who labored to save the most 
sacred part of the city. 

So, while the Capitol was being made ready, great 
numbers of the people went out of the city, and sought 
refuge in the hills on the other side of the Tiber, and 
in the neighboring cities. With them went the Vestal 
Virgins, carrying the sacred fire from the altar, and 
the vessels used in the worship of the gods. And the 
Romans loved to tell, in later days, how a poor 
plebeian, who was flying with his goods and family, 
met the Vestals as they were toiling along the road on 
foot ; and, seeing their weariness, he bade his wife and 
children get down from his cart, that he might take up 
the holy maidens and carry them to a place of safety. 

There were some of the Romans, however, who could 
not fight, and yet who would not leave the city. These 
were the old patricians, who were too feeble to bear 
arms and be useful in the citadel, but who could not 
bear the thought of leaving their homes and wandering 
in exile, while the city they loved was laid in ashes by 
the barbarous Gauls. They determined, therefore, to 
make a sacrifice of themselves to the gods for the good 
of their country. They were men who in their earlier 
years had been consuls, or had filled other high offices 
in the city. Now they put on their robes of state, and 
seated themselves in their ivory chairs in the Forum, 
and awaited calmly the coming of the enemy. 

When, at last, the Gauls entered the city, they 
passed wonderingly from street to street through the 
empty town, seeking the enemy who awaited them only 
in the citadel above. When they came to the Forum, 
they were struck with amazement at the sight of so 



96 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

many noble-appearing- old men, sitting there in perfect 
order and silence. On their part, the old men neither 
rose at their coming, nor so much as turned their eyes 
towards them, but sat gazing at one another quietly, 
and showing no sign of fear. 

For a while, the Gauls stood wondering at the 
strange sight, and did not approach or touch the 
Romans, for they seemed more like an assembly of the 
gods than men. But, at last, a Gaul who was bolder 
than the rest drew near to one of the old men, and, 
putting forth his hand, he gently stroked his long, 
white beard. Perhaps he intended no harm; the old 
Roman, however, took this for an insult, and, raising 
the long staff which he carried in his hand, he struck 
the Gaul a heavy blow with this over the head. 

Then the anger of the Gauls flamed up, and the old 
men were put to death; but this they had expected 
when they prepared themselves as a sacrifice to the 
gods. The houses of the city were then broken into by 
the Gauls, and robbed of the goods that had been left 
in them. At last, fire was set to the city, and soon its 
streets and buildings were a mere mass of smouldering 
ashes. 

But even then, the Gauls could not take the Capitol. 
The great rock was steep and well defended, and they 
soon found that they could not force their way to the 
top. They were obliged to settle down in the ruined 
city and besiege the Romans. This, however, was not 
the kind of fighting they were used to; they always 
found it unpleasant to sit still before an enemy and try 
to starve him into surrender. Indeed, in this case, 
there was some danger that they might starve them- 



THE GAULS IN ROME. 97 

selves; for they soon used up all the provisions that 
had been left in the town, and then, from day to day, 
they had to send out parts of their army to gather in 
food from the surrounding- country. 

One of these parties wandered, on one such trip, as 
far as the town where Camillus was then living, in 
exile from his native city. Though he had been badly 
treated by the Romans, Camillus was grieved at the 
misfortunes that had come upon his city. When the 
Gauls came into his neighborhood, instead of planning 
how to escape them, he tried rather to punish them for 
what they had done to Rome ; and, taking the young- 
men of the city, Camillus fell upon the camp of the 
Gauls by night, and destroyed them entirely. 

When the news of this act reached those Romans 
who had taken refuge in Veii, they began to recover 
from their terror, and to plan for the rescue of Rome. 
But first they must have a leader; and where, they 
asked, could they find a better one than Camillus, who 
had captured Veii for them, and had just shown them 
how to overcome the Gauls? 

Before Camillus could become their general, how- 
ever, he had to be recalled from exile, and appointed 
to be their leader by the Senate. What was left of the 
Senate was besieged on the Capitol at Rome ; so the 
men at Veii sent a youth to that place with messages 
to the Senate, asking that they would recall Camillus 
and appoint him to command them. 

This messenger boldly traveled the greater part of 
the way to Rome by day, but he waited until night to 
draw near to the city. Then he passed the river by 
swimming, with pieces of cork under his garments to 



98 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

hold him np, and approached the Capitol. Here, at a 
place which the Gauls had left unguarded, he managed 
to scramble up its rocky side, and reach the top in 
safety. Then he delivered his message to the Senate, 
and they granted his request gladly, and named 
Camillus, Dictator. After that the youth returned as he 
had come, bearing his message back to Camillus and to 
the men at Veii. 

The next day some of the Gauls at Rome found the 
marks of hands and feet where the messenger had 
climbed the side of the Capitol. Then they said to one 
another : 

"Where it is easy for one man to get up, it will not 
be hard for many, one after another." 

So the next night they made the attempt. Sending 
an unarmed man ahead to try the way, they fol- 
lowed in his steps, passing their weapons from one 
to another, and drawing each other up over the steep 
places. In this way, they reached the top, and reached 
it unnoticed by the Romans. The sentinels were 
fast asleep, and even the dogs were quiet and gave no 
alarm. 

But the sacred geese that were kept near the temple 
of Juno were more watchful. As the enemy approached 
their inclosure, they cackled loudly and flapped their 
wings, and this awoke an officer named Marcus Manlius, 
who was sleeping nearby. At once, Manlius snatched 
up his arms, and, shouting to awake his comrades, he 
rushed to the spot where the first Gauls were just 
climbing over the wall of the citadel. One of them he 
slew with his sword, and another, at the same time, he 
struck full in the face with his shield, and hurled him 



THE GAULS IN ROME. 



99 



headlong from the rock; and this man, as he fell, threw 
down others who were below him. And now Manlius's 
companions had joined him, and spears and stones fell 
thick and fast upon the climbing enemy; and soon the 
last of the attacking party was dashed to ruin at the 
foot of the rock, and the citadel was saved. 




THE CAPITOL AT ROME. 

After this, the siege continued for many months, and 
it bore heavily on the Gauls and the Romans alike. 
Both sides reached the limit of their endurance at last. 
It was the time of the year which was most unhealthy 
in Rome — the late summer and autumn — and many of 



ioo THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

the Gauls fell sick and died, for they were used to a 
colder and more healthy climate. 

The Romans were in a still worse condition, for 
their food was giving- out. Even when Marcus Manlius 
had saved the Capitol, the Romans could do no kinder 
thing for him in return than to give him each half a 
pound of corn and half a pint of wine, taking this from 
the nourishment of their own bodies that he might be 
rewarded. Now there was not even this to give, and 
they had looked long and vainly for Camillus and the 
promised help from Veii. They were weaned with 
constant watching; and their bodies, weakened by 
hunger, could scarcely bear the weight of their arms. 

So, at last, when the Gauls offered to break up the 
siege, and leave Rome in return for a thousand pounds 
of gold, the Romans were ready to consent. Then they 
brought out the gold to the Gauls for settlement; but, 
as the Gauls weighed it in the scales, the Romans 
charged them with balancing the scales unfairly. The 
onlv answer of the Gallic chief to this charge was to 
unbuckle his heavy sword from his waist, and throw it 
— belt, scabbard, and all — into the scale with the 
weights; and when the Romans indignantly asked the 
meaning of this, he calmly replied : 

1 'What should it mean but woe to the conquered?" 

The Romans could do nothing but add the gold to 
make up the extra weight. They were conquered, 
indeed. 



REBUILDING THE CITY. 101 



XV 

Rebuilding the City. 

T^HE stories go on to tell us that, before the Gauls 
got well away from Rome, Camillus arrived at 
last and defeated them, and took back the gold which 
had been given them as a ransom. It is likely 
however, that this is only what the Romans wished 
could have happened, and not what really took place. 

But, whether the Roman gold went with the Gauls 
or not, a very much heavier trouble had fallen upon 
the city, for the town was in ashes, and the people 
were scattered far and wide. It had taken hundreds 
of years to build Rome, and but a few months to 
destroy it. How the men and women must have 
mourned as they came back from their hiding-places 
and saw only heaps of stone and ashes where they had 
left their streets and homes! Only the Capitol lifted its 
head in the midst of the blackened ruins, bearing its 
buildings and temples unharmed. 

Those who were in the greatest despair, as they 
gazed at the ruined town, were the common people. 
They had lost all of the little which they had pos- 
sessed; and, as they looked at the ruins around the 
Capitol, they shrank from the task that they saw before 
them. Rome must be begun anew ; and what toil it 
meant for them only to clear the ground and make 
ready for the work of building ! And, after that was 



102 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

done, the greatest work would yet remain, — the gather- 
ing of the material and the building of the houses. 

Many of the people had returned from Veii, where 
they had been living in the well-built houses of that 
city, and they thought of them with regret. 

"Why should we remain here, O Romans," cried the 
leaders of the people, "and toil at this great work? A 
home awaits us in Veii, ready built and with most 
fertile fields around it. That city was conquered by us 
from our enemies; let us make use of it now in our 
great need." 

Then the people, looking at the ruins about them, 
cried : 

"Yes, let us go! Let us begin anew in Veii!" 

But they did not go. When Camillus heard of the 
plans of the people, he went to them, with the whole 
Senate following after him, and he spoke to them with 
these words: 

"What is this that you think of doing, O Romans? 
Why have we struggled to recover our city from the 
Gauls, if we ourselves desert it as soon as it is recov- 
ered? Shall we now leave the Capitol, which the 
Romans and the gods still held, while the Gauls lay 
camped in the city? Shall even the citadel be deserted, 
now that the Gauls are fled and the Romans victorious? 
We possess a city founded by the gods; not a spot is 
there in it that is not full of them. Will you forsake 
them all by leaving Rome? Shall the Virgins forsake 
thee, O Vesta, and the priests of Rome become Veien- 
tians? Has our native soil so slight a hold on us, or 
this earth which we call mother? Does our love of 
country lie merely in the surface, and in the timber of 



REBUILDING THE CITY. 103 

our houses? For my part, I will confess to you, that, 
while I have been absent from my city, whenever it 
came into my thoughts, all these occurred to me, — the 
hills, the plains, the Tiber, the face of the country, so 
familiar to my eyes, and this sky, under which I have 
been born and educated. May all these now, by your 
love of them, induce you to remain, rather than that 
they should cause you grief and regret after having left 
them. Not without good reason did gods and men 
choose this place for founding a city, — these most 
healthful hills, and this large river bearing the fruits 
of the inland country to us, and ours to the sea, — this 
place in the center of Italy. The very size of our city 
before it was destroyed is a proof of its good situation. 
Where is the wisdom of your giving this up, now that 
you have proved it, to make trial of another city into 
which good fortune may not follow you? Here is the 
Capitol, which it was foretold should become the chief 
seat of empire. Here is the fire of Vesta. Here are 
the shields of Mars, let down from heaven. Here are 
all the gods, who will be favorable to you if you stay." 

In spite of the speech of Camillus, however, the people 
still hesitated, and the Senators even could not quite 
decide what it would be best for them to do. But, as 
the Senate was still discussing the matter, an officer 
marched through the Forum with his soldiers, and 
called out: 

"Standard-bearer, fix your standard. Let us halt 
here." 

His words reached the ears of the Senators as they 
sat, in anxious quiet, in the Senate-house near by. It 
seemed to them like a message from the gods, com- 



104 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



manding them to remain at Rome. They came out of 
the Senate-house, therefore, exclaiming that "they 
accepted the omen"; and the common people, when 
they were told of the occurrence, allowed themselves to 

be persuaded to remain. 

Then the Senate ordered 
that Veii should be de- 
stroyed, so that the people 
should never again be 
tempted to leave Rome; 
and the materials were 
brought from Veii to Rome, 
and used in building the city 
anew. The Senate also gave 
the people liberty to take 
wood and stone for building 
free of charge, and to build 
their houses wherever they 
could find a place. So, within 
a year, the city was rebuilt, 
after a fashion ; but the 
houses at first were poor and 
mean, and the work was done 
so hurriedly that no attention 
was paid even to the course 
of the streets. This made the 
streets of the new Rome very 
narrow and crooked, as they 
the buildings; and even the 
the Gauls came had followed 
the line of the streets, were now built over with pri- 
vate houses. 




STANDARD-REARER. 



wound 
sewers, 



about 
which 



before 



REBUILDING THE CITY. 105 

The Romans were not allowed to rebuild their city in 
peace, however. All the peoples around them began 
to take advantage of their weakness to prevent them 
from growing strong and powerful once more. As we 
read the old stories, we wonder whether the Romans 
would have ever succeeded in restoring their city if it 
had not been for Camillus. He led them against their 
enemies many times, and always with success; and 
often he gained the victory for them more by the 
enemy's fear of him than by the size of his armies or 
the strength of their arms. 

At last, Camillus had grown to be an old man of 
eighty years, and when a call to battle came he feared 
that he was no longer fit to lead the Romans to vic- 
tory. The citizens, however, would not allow him to 
retire from the command ; for his mind was still clear 
and strong, and they thought that that was worth more 
than youth and strength of body. 

So Camillus went forth from Rome, with another 
man — Lucius Furius — for a companion in command; 
and he led his men cautiously to the seat of the war. 
The enemy had more men than Camillus had, and were 
awaiting him in a city which had belonged to the 
Romans before the coining of the Gauls. When thev 
saw the Romans approaching, they came out and 
offered to give battle immediately; for they thought 
that, by doing this, they would give Camillus less 
chance to plan his battle skilfully. But Camillus was 
too wise in the art of war to be caught in any such way, 
and he prepared to keep his men from battle until he 
saw a good chance for victory. 

This made the enemy all the more eager, and they 



106 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

came close to the Roman camp and began digging 
trenches and preparing for battle as though daring 
them to fight. This was hard for the Roman soldiers 
to bear, even though they were so few in number com- 
pared with the enemy. In their anger, they began to 
think that Camillus was holding them back more because 
of the weakness and fears of age, than from carefulness 
for their safety and for the victory. The other general, 
the young Furius, was of this opinion also, and did not 
hesitate to say what he thought among the soldiers. 

"Wars are the business of young men," he said, 
4 'and it ought to be so, for, in the best condition of the 
body, the mind is strongest also. Why should Camillus 
now hold his men quiet in the trenches when formerly 
he used to carry camps and cities at the first onset? 
What increase does he expect to his own strength; 
what falling off does he hope for in the enemy? 
Camillus has had a goodly share of years, as well as of 
glory. Shall we now allow the strength of the state to 
surfer because his body sinks into old age?" 

When the soldiers, excited by these words, demanded 
battle, Furius went to Camillus, and said: 

"Camillus, we cannot withstand the violence of our 
soldiers, and the enemy insults us in a way not to be 
endured. Do you, who are but one man, yield to all, 
and allow us to do as we wish, that the victory may 
be ours the sooner." 

Then the old Camillus replied: 

"Whatever wars have been fought, up to this day, 
under my single care, have not proved either my judg- 
ment or my good fortune to be wanting. But now I 
have a companion in my office of general, who is my 



REBUILDING THE CITY. 107 

equal in command and my superior in the vigor of 
youth. I have been accustomed to rule the violence 
of my army, not to be ruled by it. But with my com- 
panion's power I cannot interfere. You may do 
Lucius Furius, that which you think best for the 
interest of Rome. I beg only one thing, and that is, 
that, in consideration of my years, I may not be placed 
in the front rank. Whatever duties of war an old man 
may discharge, in these I shall not be found wanting. 
And I pray the immortal gods that no misfortune may 
come upon the Romans to prove that my plan would 
have been the better one." 

Then the Romans were drawn up in battle order and 
advanced to the attack, leaving Camillus, as he had 
desired, with some reserve troops in the camp. The old 
general first posted strong guards about the camp, and 
then stood anxiously watching the advance of the 
Romans. 

As he had feared, he did not see them gain a vic- 
tory. At first, the enemy seemed to give way, and the 
Romans followed eagerly. But when the retreating 
soldiers had drawn them on to where the ground was 
difficult, they suddenly faced about, and others of their 
men joined them, and they attacked the Romans at a 
disadvantage. It was not long before Camillus, from 
the high ground from which he watched the battle, saw 
the Roman line break and the soldiers turn and fly 
toward his camp. 

Then Camillus commanded his men to lift him on his 
horse, and, calling to his troops, he led them out 
against the enemy. When he met the Romans rushing 
blindly back, he cried ; 



io8 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

"Is this the battle that you called for so eagerly, sol- 
diers? Why turn your faces toward the camp? Not a 
man of you shall my camp receive, except as victor! 
Having- followed another leader, now follow Camillus, 
and conquer as you have done before, when I lead." 

At this the soldiers halted, stopped at first by shame. 
Then when they saw their old general, whom they had 
followed to so many victories, go forward against the 
enemy in the front rank, they turned and joined him, 
with shouts and renewed courage. And once more 
Camillus led them on to victory. 

You would think that, after this battle, Camillus 
would be angry with Lucius Furius. But this was not 
the case. He seemed to wish to forget that it was the 
bad judgment of Furius that had brought on the 
battle, and to remember only that he had fought with 
the greatest bravery through it all. 

"This day," said Camillus, "will be a lesson to him 
not to prefer his own plans to better ones." 

So, when Camillus was appointed general for a new 
war soon after this, he chose this same Lucius Furius 
as his companion in command; and they went out 
together, once more, in friendliness and good fellow- 
ship. 

Do you remember when, in his earlier days, Camillus 
could not remain at Rome because he could not live 
without quarreling with his fellow-citizens? Now you 
see him forgiving a real injury, and showing only 
kindness to the man who had scorned him in his old 
age. Camillus had learned something better, during 
his long life, than how to lead his soldiers to victory; 
for he knew how, at the last, to return good for evil, 



REBUILDING THE CITY. 109 

and to make a friend of one who might have been his 
enemy. 

Camillus lived for some years longer, and when he 
died the people felt as though they had lost a second 
Romulus; for he had almost founded their city a 
second time, by persuading them to remain in it after the 
retreat of the Gauls, and by protecting them from their 
enemies while they rebuilt their dwellings. The wis- 
dom of his desire to remain at Rome was seen even 
before his death, for the city had already sprung up in 
a vigorous new growth; and we now believe, as 
Camillus did then, that nowhere else could Rome have 
grown to be the great city which it finally became. 



no THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



XVI 

The New Rome. 

IT is not an unusual thing for a city to recover after 
such a misfortune as the sack of Rome, and become 
greater than before. In our own country such a thing 
has happened. Your father, perhaps, remembers when 
the city of Chicago was burned in 187 1, and all the 
country was called upon to send food and clothing to 
the thousands of people who had lost their homes and 
all they possessed. But now Chicago is the second city 
in size in the United States, and all because of cease- 
less labor and endeavor since that time. Rome did not 
recover from her misfortune so rapidly as Chicago did 
from hers, for she did not receive such generous help 
from the country around her. You have seen that the 
neighbors of Rome would have preferred to injure, 
rather than to aid, the people of the destroyed city. 
But, thanks to the wisdom and skill of Camillus, and 
the determination of her people, Rome at length recov- 
ered from her misfortune, and became a powerful city 
once more. 

In one way their troubles were a good thing for the 
Romans. The patricians found it so important, for their 
own good, that the common people should stay at 
Rome and help in the work of rebuilding the city, that 
they became willing to give up many of the rights 
which, before this, they had kept to themselves. It 



THE NEW ROME. 1 1 1 

was not many years after the new Rome had been 
built that a man from the plebeians was elected consul, 
along with a man of noble birth. This was a great 
victory for the common people, and it was soon fol- 
lowed up by others. Before a century had passed, 
from the burning of the city, the plebeians were allowed 
to hold any office to which a patrician could be elected, 
and the old distinctions between the classes were 
entirely removed. 

In spite of the fact that Camillus had called their 
hills "most healthful," Rome was troubled for many 
years after the rebuilding of the city with much illness 
among the people. You will remember that the Gauls 
sickened quickly in Rome ; and now, even the citizens 
themselves, who were used to the climate, sickened and 
died in great numbers. This indeed was the cause of 
the death of Camillus himself, after all his long years 
of fighting on Roman battlefields ; and sometimes there 
was so much sickness among the people that the armies 
could not be sent out against their enemies as usual. 

This trouble was caused partly by a lack of good 
water in the city. The well-water about Rome, and 
also the water of the Tiber, was impure; and the 
cisterns did not furnish enough for the use of the 
people. The Romans must have felt this need very 
keenly, for, while they were fighting battles on every 
side, they set themselves to work to bring in a good 
supply of water from outside the city, as is now done 
in all our large towns. Eight miles out from Rome 
there were hills where pure water could be found in 
plenty, and they brought this into the city in a passage 
which they built for it under ground. 



112 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



Such a passage for water they called an "aqueduct," 
and we still use the same word ourselves, having 
borrowed it from the Romans. The reason that they 






RUINS OF A K< 'MAN A.Q1 EDI CT. 

did not, at first, build their aqueducts above the sur- 
face of the ground was that they feared lest, at some 
time, their enemies might succeed in turning the 



THE NEW HOME. "3 

stream aside, and thus leave the city without water. 
But as Rome conquered her enemies about her, and 
the city grew larger and needed a greater supply of 
water, many new aqueducts were built, and these were 
built above ground. Even to this day, you can see, 
near Rome, the remains of some of the great stone 
troughs — sometimes high up in the air on stone arches 
— in which water was brought from miles away to the 
city of Rome. 

At this time, also, the Romans began a work which 
was as great as the building of their aqueducts. This 
was the making of good roads. 

As soon as the Romans began to send out armies to 
fight with the neighboring cities, they must have seen 
the need of well-built roads that could be used through 
all the seasons of the year, and in wet and dry weather 
alike. Such roads became still more necessary now 
that the Romans had come to rule lands and cities 
lying many miles from Rome. So while the Romans 
were bringing good water into Rome, they began their 
first long road ; and the man who led them in building 
their aqueduct was also foremost in making this road. 
His name was Appius Claudius, and he was quite as 
great a man as any of the Roman generals that we are 
told so much about. Because the road was built under 
his direction, the Romans named it the "Appian 
Way," after him, and even to-day what remains of this 
road is still called by this name. 

From the beginning, the Romans built their roads 
with the greatest care. First, after they had removed 
the earth to the proper depth, they placed a layer of 
large flat stones on the ground. Then a layer, nine 



ii4 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



inches thick, of smaller stones, was laid upon these, and 
cemented together with lime. Next came a layer, 
about six inches thick, of still smaller stones, and this 
too was bound together with cement. And, at last, on 
top of all, blocks of very hard stone were laid, and 
fitted closely together, so as to make a perfectly smooth 
surface on which to drive or walk. 

Is it any wonder that roads built with such care have 
lasted for two thousand years? 

This building of roads and bringing of water into the 
city was not a small thing for the Romans to do, as 




A ROMAN ROAD. 

perhaps it may seem now, when well-paved streets 
and waterworks are to be found in almost every large 
city. The Romans did this when such things were 
only beginning to be thought of by men, and they did it 
so well that they set an example which the whole world 
has been glad to follow ever since. They saw what 
they needed, then they thought out the best way to 
meet their wants, and then, last of all, they were will- 
ing to work hard and long in order to do well whatever 
they undertook. It is this as much as anything else 



THE NEW ROME. 115 

which made the Romans become one of the greatest 
peoples that the world has ever seen. They thought 
well and worked hard, whether it was in fighting 
battles or building roads, and in the end this made 
them the masters of the world. 

The Romans not only thought things out for them- 
selves, however; they were always ready to learn from 
others as well. Whatever they saw that seemed good 
to them, they borrowed and made part of themselves. 
They learned from the Etruscans a great deal of that 
knowledge of building which they used in constructing 
their temples and aqueducts. When, for the first 
time, they went to war with an enemy beyond the sea, 
the Romans learned how to build war-vessels from a 
ship of the enemy which was wrecked on their shores. 
When the Romans found that the short, straight sword, 
which the people of Spain used, was better than their 
own, they armed their soldiers with that. And when 
they found that the Greeks were better poets and artists 
than they were, the Romans took them to be their 
teachers in poetry and in art. 

But, besides the power of the Romans to think, to 
work, and to learn from others, there was something 
else that made their city strong. This was the love 
and devotion of her people. The best of the Romans 
were willing to die for her, and did die for her, not 
only by going into battle and laying down their lives 
there, but in other ways as well. 

Old writers tell us that once a great chasm, or hole, 
many feet deep, suddenly opened in the Forum at 
Rome. This must have been caused by an earthquake, 
such as those which often occur even now in Italy, and 



1 1 6 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

sometimes in our own land. The Romans were 
greatly distressed by this chasm, and they tried to fill 
it by throwing earth into it. But, in spite of all their 
efforts, the opening would not be closed. Then they 
could only look upon the chasm as a work of the gods, 
and they asked the priests the meaning of it, and how 
it might be filled. The priests replied : 

"Search out what is the most precious thing of the 
Roman people, for that is what must be thrown into 
the chasm in order to satisfy the gods and make sure 
that the city will last forever." 

Then, as they questioned among themselves what 
this "most precious thing of the Roman people" might 
be, Marcus Curtius, a youth who had done great deeds 
in war, exclaimed: 

"Can you doubt what this means? Is there any 
greater good for Romans than arms and bravery? 
This is what the gods demand; and I will devote 
myself as a sacrifice to them, so that my country may 
never perish." 

Then he put on his richest armor and mounted his 
horse and rode to the edge of the chasm, while the 
people of Rome crowded the Forum and stood watch- 
ing. When he had prayed to the gods, Curtius leaped 
his horse into the opening, and horse and rider disap- 
peared from sight. After that the chasm closed, and 
all that was left to show where the opening had been 
was a little pool of water, which the Romans named 
the Curtian lake, in honor of this youth who had so 
willingly and gladly sacrificed himself to the gods for 
the good of the Roman people. 

At another time, a Roman named Decius Mus did 



THE NEW ROME, 1 1 7 

something very much like this act of Curtius. Decius 
was consul, and was leading the army in battle when 
he saw that the Romans were giving way and the 
enemy was pressing on to victory. 

"Valerius," he cried, to the chief priest who stood 
by him, "we have need of the aid of the gods. Come! 
tell me the words by which I may offer myself a sacri- 
fice for my soldiers." 

Then, with his head covered and leaning on a spear, 
he repeated these words after the priest : 

"Janus, Jupiter, Father Mars, and all ye gods under 
whose power we and our enemies are : I pray you that 
you will grant strength to the Roman people, that they 
mav strike the enemies of the Romans with terror, 
dismay and death. I devote the soldiers of the enemy 
together with myself to the gods of the dead, for the 
sake of the soldiers of Rome." 

He then mounted his horse, and rushed into the midst 
of the enemy, where he fell pierced by many weapons. 
The Roman soldiers, who, followed him in his attack, 
were victorious ; and they thought that the gods had 
given them the victory because their consul had offered 
himself as a sacrifice for them. 



n8 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



XVII 

The War with Pyrrhus. 

IF you will look again at the map of Italy, you will 
see that the Apennine mountains run from the 
northwestern part in a great curve through the penin- 
sula. Within a hundred years after the Gauls destroyed 
Rome, the Romans ruled all the lands around the city 
between these mountains and the sea. But they had 
not yet crossed the mountains to the north; and they 
had no thought of going beyond them in the south 
either, until something happened there which forced 
them to do so. 

The southern coast of Italy was not occupied by 
Italians, but by Greeks, who had come across the sea 
from Greece long, long before, and built cities on the 
southern shores of the peninsula. They were a gay, 
changeable people, who had now grown to be very 
much less worthy in character than the old Greeks who 
had fought the Persians so well in former days. They 
preferred to hire soldiers to fight for them, instead of 
fighting for themselves; for they loved the bustle and 
chatter of their city life, and the amusement of their 
open-air theatres, more than anything else in the 
world. 

The most important of these Greek cities in Italy was 
Tarentum, which lav on the western side of the heel of 
the peninsula. There the people had built their 



THE WAR WITH PYRRHUS. 119 

theatre in a place which overlooked the sea; and as 
they were gathered here one day, they saw ten Roman 
war vessels approaching the city harbor. 

Now, there was an agreement between the Romans 
and the people of Tarentum that the Roman war ships 
should not sail beyond a certain point on the southern 
shore ; so, when the Tarentines saw these vessels com- 
ing in close to their town, they were very angry. They 
did not stop to think that the Romans might be coming 
peacefully, and with no thought of harm. They rushed 
headlong from the theatre to the shore, and got aboard 
their ships and rowed out to attack the Roman vessels; 
and, as the Romans were entirely unprepared for 
battle, five of their ships were sunk, and the men were 
taken prisoners. 

The other five ships managed to escape, and when 
they returned to Rome with the news of how they had 
been treated at Tarentum, the Romans were very 
indignant. But they did not want to go to war with 
the people of Tarentum; so, instead of sending an 
army to attack that city, they sent ambassadors to 
demand an explanation of the wrong that had been 
done them. 

When these ambassadors reached Tarentum, they 
were led before a large body of the citizens, in order 
that they might state their business in the hearing of 
all. Their grave manner and broken speech, as they 
tried to make their meaning clear in the Greek tongue, 
amused the Tarentines immensely. They laughed at 
them and mocked their blunders, and, at last, one 
wretched fellow threw dirt on the clean white toga of 
one of the ambassadors. 



120 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

At this, the Greeks laughed louder than ever; but 
the insulted Roman raised the stained folds of his toga 
and held them before the eyes of the people. 

"Laugh on, now," he cried; "but the stain on this 
gown can only be washed out with blood." 

Then the ambassadors departed, and the two cities 
began to prepare for war, — but in what different ways! 
The Romans gathered their men together as usual, and 
sent them under the command of a consul across the 
mountains into southern Italy. But the Tarentines did 
not think of getting ready to fight themselves; that 
was not their fashion. The only thing they did was to 
send over into Greece to hire some general there to 
bring an army to fight for them against the Romans. 

There were many men in the Grecian peninsula at 
this time who were willing enough to fight, and who 
knew how to fight well; but the man to whom the 
Tarentines sent was especially ready to give the help 
that they asked. 

This was Pyrrhus, the king of one of the little coun- 
tries of western Greece, who was a brave and generous 
man, and one of the best generals of that time. He 
was related to Alexander the Great, who a few years 
before this had become the conqueror of Greece and of 
much of the world besides. From his very boyhood 
Pyrrhus had lived with the Greek armies at home, in 
Asia, and in Egypt; and he had determined that if he 
should ever have the chance he would try to become 
like Alexander — a conqueror of great nations. So 
now, when the Tarentines sent to him and begged his 
help against the Romans, he readily gave his consent, 
and began to plan victories for himself in the west as 



THE WAR WITH PYRRHUS. 121 

great as those which Alexander had won in the east. 
For he meant not only to help the Tarentines against 
Rome, but to bring all the Greek cities of Italy and of 
the island of Sicily under his rule at the same time. 

When Pyrrhus had gathered his army together and 
sailed to Tarentum, the foolish people of that city sud- 
denly discovered that they had given themselves a 
stern ruler where they had only asked help against 
their enemy. The king had no patience with their 
lightness and gayety in such a time of danger. He 
closed their theatre and public meeting-places, and set 
the people to work helping his soldiers in their task of 
preparing for the Romans. The Tarentines obeyed 
unwillingly; perhaps they were already beginning to 
wish that they had not been so rash in making trouble, 
or so ready to ask aid when the trouble had come. 

Soon after Pyrrhus reached Italy, the two armies — 
the Greek and the Roman — met in battle near Taren- 
tum. On both sides, the men fought so bravely that 
for a time it could not be told which would gain the 
victory. The Greeks formed their men in one solid 
mass, drawn close together with their shields touching 
and their great spears, eighteen feet long, extending 
far out in front of them. The Romans formed their 
men in many small companies, which were arranged 
loosely into three ranks, one behind the other; in this 
way, each company and each rank could act separately, 
while all supported one another. The Greeks were the 
strongest in defending themselves on a level surface, 
for the Romans could scarcely break through the dense 
hedge of their spear-points, and get near enough to 
reach them with their short swords. But the Romans 



122 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



could attack their enemies more freely than the Greeks 
could, and they could move more easily over rough 
ground. 

In this battle, the Romans rushed time and again at 
the solid ranks of the Greeks, and seemed determined 
never to give up the effort to break through and throw 
them into disorder. But Pyrrhus had with him in his 

army something of which the 
Romans had never seen the 
like before. This was a herd 
of elephants; and when these 
huge beasts charged upon the 
Romans, with towers upon 
their backs filled with armed 
men, the Romans were filled 
with dismay and drew back, 
and their horses went mad 
with fright, and turned and 
trampled down the Roman 
lines. Then the Romans re- 
treated in confusion, and the 
battle was lost. 

Pyrrhus had gained the 
first victor}-, but he saw that 
he had met enemies who could not be despised, even 
though they had been defeated. When the fight was 
over, he stood upon the battlefield and saw the Roman 
dead all lying with their faces turned toward the 
enemy. 

"If these were my soldiers," he said, "and I were 
their general, I could surely conquer the world." 

After this battle, Pyrrhus sent his trusted friend 




A ROMAN SOLDIER. 



THE WAR WITH PYRRHUS. 123 

Cineas to Rome to propose terms of peace to the Sen- 
ate, for he thought that the Romans would now be 
ready to give up the war. 

This Cineas was as great as a statesman as Pyrrhus 
was as a general, and it was said of him that his tongue 
had taken more cities for his master than Pyrrhus had 
taken with his armies. During his visit to Rome, 
Cineas made himself most agreeable to the citizens. 
He had such a good memory that, after one day in 
Rome, he could call every great man by his name ; and 
he was such a good judge of men that he never failed 
to treat each person in the way that would be most 
pleasing to him. So all the Romans liked him, though 
he was their enemy; and the Senate was almost per- 
suaded by him to do as Pyrrhus wished, and settle upon 
a peace. 

But there was one person in Rome whom Cineas 
could not win over. This was Appius Claudius, who 
had constructed the first aqueduct and had built the 
Appian Way. He was now an old man, gray-haired 
and blind, and it had been a long time since he had 
gone from his home to take his place in the Senate. 
But when he heard that the Senate was about to make 
peace with Pyrrhus, he commanded his servants to 
take him up and carry him in his chair through the 
Forum to the Senate house. There his sons and sons- 
in-law met him at the door, and when he was led in 
and rose to speak, he was received with a respectful 
silence. 

"Until this time, O Senators," he said, "I have 
borne the misfortune of my blindness with some 
impatience. But now, when I hear this dishonorable 



124 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

purpose of yours, it is my great sorrow that, being 
blind, I am not deaf also. To make peace with 
Pyrrhus will be to destroy the glory of Rome. Do not 
persuade yourselves that making a friend of Pyrrhus is 
the way to send him back to his country. It is the 
way, rather, to show the world that you can be con- 
quered in one battle ; and soon other invaders will be 
upon us. The true way to rid us of our dangers is for 
Rome never to treat with a foreign enemy while his 
army remains in Italy." 

The Senators were shamed by the noble courage of 
the aged Claudius. Instead of making peace with 
Pyrrhus, they sent Cineas back to his master with the 
message that they would not treat with him about terms 
of peace and friendship until his army was removed 
from Italian soil; and they added that so long as he 
stayed in Italy under arms, they would continue to 
fight with him, even though he should defeat them 
many times. 

This noble answer of the Romans impressed Cineas 
very much. When he returned to Pyrrhus, and the 
king asked him what he thought of the Romans and 
their government, he answered: 

"The Roman Senate, Sire, is an assembly of kings." 

Pyrrhus himself soon had a chance to see the spirit 
of one of the Romans of that day. The Senate sent 
Caius Fabricius to the king, shortly after this, to treat 
for the return of the Roman prisoners who had been 
taken by the Greeks. Cineas told Pyrrhus that 
Fabricius was one who stood very high among the 
Romans, as an honest man and a good soldier, but 
that he was very poor. So Pyrrhus received him with 



THE WAR WITH PYRRHUS. 1 25 

kindness, and tried to bribe him with gold. But 
Fabricius refused to accept the king's gifts. 

"If I am dishonest," said he, "how can I be worth a 
bribe? And if I am honest, how can you expect me to 
take one?" 

Then Pyrrhus tried him in another way. The next 
day he commanded that one of the largest of the 
elephants should be placed behind the curtains while 
he and Fabricius sat talking together. At a signal 
from the king, the curtains were drawn aside, and the 
elephant, raising his trunk just over the head of 
Fabricius, trumpeted loudly. But the Roman omy 
turned quietly and said to Pyrrhus : 

"Neither your money yesterday, O King, nor this 
beast to-day, can move me." 

You can understand that after this Pyrrhus admired 
Fabricius greatly. To show his favor to him, he 
allowed him to take the Roman prisoners with him 
when he returned to Rome; for a great festival in 
honor of the god Saturn was about to be celebrated, 
and all Romans wished to take part in it. And Fabri- 
cius, in return, gave his promise to the king that if the 
Senate did not agree to make peace, the men should 
all come back to him when the holiday was past. 

This festival to Saturn was held each year in the 
latter part of December, and was a sort of Thanksgiv- 
ing festival. It was a time when the Romans gave 
presents, as we do now at Christmas time, and the poor 
people received gifts of corn and oil and wine, and 
watched the servants of the wealthy carry baskets of 
nuts and figs and apples to their masters' friends. It 
was a happy, joyous time, when the boys all had new 



126 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

tunics and new shoes, and the slaves were allowed to 
be equal to their masters for once in the long: year. 

The festival must have passed all too quickly for the 
prisoners of Pyrrhus; for the Roman Senate again 
refused to agree to a peace, and they were sent back 
to the Greeks as soon as the festival was over. The 
Senators were so anxious to keep the promise of 
Fabricius unbroken, that they commanded that any 
prisoner who should remain behind should be put to 
death; but this order was not needed, for they all 
returned faithfully to their captivity. 

It was not long after this till the Romans and the 
Greeks met again in battle. Once more the Romans 
were defeated ; but they fought as stubbornly as they 
had in the first battle, and again it was only the 
elephants that won the victory for Pyrrhus. After the 
battle, one of the friends of the king came to him and 
wished him joy over his victory. But Pyrrhus replied, 
seeing the large number of his own men who had fallen : 

"One more such victory as this, and I am lost." 

The king was thinking how far he was from his own 
country, from which he had brought all his best sol- 
diers, and how difficult it would be to fill up the vacant 
places in his army with men who were as good as 
those he had lost ; for the Greeks of Italy did not make 
good soldiers. It was different with the Romans. 
Among them every man was a soldier, and as soon as 
one army was destroyed, another one as large and well- 
trained could be raised to take its place. 

After this second battle, Pyrrhus did not care to 
fight again with the Romans. He left Italy and went 
over to the island of Sicily, and tried to make himself 



THE WAR WITH PYRRHUS. 1 27 

master of the cities there. He remained in the island 
for three years. When he returned to Italy, he found 
that the Romans had made good use of his absence. 
They had gained all the southern part of the peninsula 
except the city of Tarentum ; and they were now in 
better condition to give battle to him than ever. 

The Romans had seen that the close ranks of the 
Greeks fought best upon a level surface ; so, when a third 
battle with Pyrrhus took place, they placed themselves 
on rough, uneven ground. The Romans had also lost 
much of their fear of the elephants by this time ; and, 
when the great beasts charged at them in this battle, 
they hurled darts and spears at them, and so wounded 
and vexed the animals that at last they turned and 
rushed back upon the Greeks themselves. In this way 
the solid mass of P^rrhus's soldiers was broken up, 
and after that it was not long until his whole army was 
terribly defeated. 

After this third battle, Pyrrhus was obliged to leave 
Italy and go back to his own country, a disappointed 
man. He had failed to conquer an empire in the west, 
as he had planned; and it was the Romans who had 
caused his plans to fail. 

Not long after he had gone, the city of Tarentum 
itself fell into the hands of the Romans ; and after the 
fall of that city, Roman rule reached throughout the 
whole of Italy, from the toe of the boot up to the val- 
ley of the River Po in the north. 



128 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



XVIII 

Rome and the Carthaginians. 

NOW that the Romans had become masters of 
almost the whole of the peninsula of Italy, you 
might expect that their wars would cease, and that they 
would be left to govern peaceably what their arms had 
won. But this was not to be the case. As you will 
see, the Romans had soon to prepare for a struggle 
which was to prove the longest and hardest that they 
ever went through. This was due to the fact that 
right across the Mediterranean Sea from Italy, there 
was another people who had also been able to make 
themselves rulers over other lands and nations; and, 
after the Romans had conquered the Greeks of south- 
ern Italy, there was no longer any state to stand 
between these two proud and powerful peoples. 

This other people dwelt in the city of Carthage, and 
were called Carthaginians. Their city was founded 
more than a hundred years before Romulus began the 
first settlement on the Palatine hill; and now Carthage 
was a larger and richer, as it was an older, city than 
Rome ; and its people ruled a great part of the coast of 
Africa, of Spain, and of Sicily, and most of the islands 
of the western Mediterranean. 

The people of Carthage were Phoenicians, and their 
mother country was along the eastern shores of the 
Mediterranean. They were of the same race as the 



ROME AND THE CARTHAGINIANS. 129 

Jews, who dwelt near by the mother land in Palestine; 
and in speech and religion they were more different 
from the people of Rome than any other people that 
the Romans had ever come in contact with, except the 
Etruscans. They were a nation of sailors and traders, 
and their ships were the best then known to men. They 
were the first to discover that they could steer their 
vessels, when out of sight of land, by using the North 
Star to guide them; so, while other nations still kept 
safely in sight of the shores of the Mediterranean in 
their voyaging, the Phoenicians pushed boldly out 
into the broad Atlantic, and sailed as far as the island 
of Great Britain on the north, and on the south a good 
distance down the coast of Africa. They were the dis- 
coverers and traders of that long-ago time ; and they 
made settlements, too — just as the English, and 
French, and Spanish did in later days, — wherever they 
could find a good harbor, with a fertile country around 
it, or with mines of gold or silver or tin to work. And 
they did more, even, than this. In order to keep their 
records and accounts, they invented the alphabet which 
we use to-day; and they taught these letters to the 
Greeks and the Romans, though the languages which 
these people wrote with them were different from that 
which the Phoenicians used. 

So, when the Phoenicians left their old home to found 
a new city in the west, they brought with them much 
useful knowledge. Their children, too, and their chil- 
dren's children, made good use of what their fathers 
had brought. By the time this story begins, Carthage 
had become a great city, which was said to cover 
twenty-three miles of country; and the sails of its 



13° THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

ships dotted the waters of the western Mediterranean. 
The Carthaginians were good builders, also, as well as 
good sailors and traders. They had protected their 
city on the land side by three great walls, one inside of 
the other, and these walls were far stronger and better 
built than the walls which surrounded Rome. The 
space between the walls was taken up with stables for 
the elephants and war horses, and here were kept 
three hundred of the one and four thousand of the 
other. And to shelter the many ships of the Cartha- 
ginians, two great harbors had been dug out, in addition 
to the natural bay on which the city was built, — one for 
the trading vessels, and one for the ships of war. 

The Carthaginians were not only a powerful people; 
they were also very jealous of their power, and wished 
to prevent any other people from sharing in it. They 
looked upon the sea, on which their many vessels came 
and went, as belonging to themselves alone ; and when 
they found the ships of other nations sailing in their 
waters, they did not hesitate to capture the vessels and 
to drown the men that they found on them. They are 
even said to have boasted once that, without their per- 
mission, the Romans could not even wash their hands 
in the waters of the sea. 

The struggle between the Romans and the Cartha- 
ginians began in Sicily. The Carthaginians had long 
had possession of the western part of the island, while 
the eastern part was ruled by a number of Greek cities. 
It was to take the part of these Greek cities against the 
Carthaginians that Pyrrhus had gone to Sicily; so 
the Carthaginians were friendly to Rome until the 
Romans had driven Pyrrhus back to his eastern home. 



ROME AND THE CARTHAGINIANS. 131 

As soon as he was disposed of, however, the friendship 
between Rome and Carthage began to cool. Pyrrhus 
had foreseen that this would be so; and as he had left 
the island of Sicily he had looked back at its shores and 
exclaimed : 

"What afield we are leaving- for the Romans and the 
Carthaginians to contend in!" 

Just across the strait which separates Italy from 
Sicily, was a Greek city which soon after this got into 
very serious trouble with one of its neighbors. The 
people in the city were divided as to what they should 
do for help; so one party sent to Rome for aid, while 
the other invited the Carthaginians in. Now, the 
Romans could not permit the Carthaginians to become 
settled so near to Italy as that was, and, rather against 
their will, the Romans were forced to send the aid 
which had been asked. The result was the first war 
between Rome and Carthage. 

Although the Carthaginians were masters of the sea, 
they were not prepared to fight the Romans on land. 
They had no army of citizens to depend on, such as 
Rome had. They hired their soldiers, as you will 
remember the Tarentines did, and gathered them 
together from many different countries. So it took 
them a long time to get a strong army ready to fight 
in Sicily ; and in the meantime the Romans won many 
victories and took many important towns from them. 

But the Romans soon discovered that they could 
make few lasting gains in fighting against the Cartha- 
ginians, without a navy to help them. They might 
conquer all Sicily with their armies, but when the war 
vessels of the Carthaginians came sailing around the 



i3 2 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

island, the cities on the coast which had given them- 
selves to the Romans would have to go back to the 
Carthaginian side once more. Besides this, the Ro- 
mans — who had almost no war vessels and very little 
experience in managing them even if they had had 
them — seemed to be unable to get at Carthage itself 
to do it any serious harm. But the ships of Carthage 
could dash in from the sea upon the coast of Italy, 
and destroy a city or ruin a whole stretch of country 
before the Italians could make a move to defend them- 
selves. 

When the Romans saw this, they did one of the most 
daring things that we read of in their history. They 
determined to build a fleet, and go out and meet the 
Carthaginians on the sea, where they had so long been 
masters. They took for their model a Carthaginian 
ship that had been 'wrecked on their shores, and within 
sixty days, the old writers say, a growing wood was 
changed into a fleet of one hundred and twenty ships. 

While the vessels were building, they had also to find 
rowers for their new fleet, and to train them for their 
work. To do this, rows of seats, arranged one above 
the other, like the benches of rowers in a ship, were 
built upon the ground; and on these the men took 
their places daily, and were taught to move their great 
oars all together, in obedience to the voice of the row- 
ing master. Then, when the ships were done, the men 
were given a short time to practice on the water the 
movements which they had learned on the land; and 
after that the fleet sailed away to Sicily to seek out and 
fight their enemies. 

But for all their bold and determined spirit, the 



ROME AND THE CARTHAGINIANS. 



*33 



Romans knew very well that they could not, for some 
time, hope to be a match for the skilful Carthaginian 
sailors. Their hastily-made ships were clumsy and 
hard to manage, and the green wood of which they 
were built was already beginning to warp apart and let 
in the water. Their rowers and sailing-masters did not 




NAVAL BATTLE. 

know how to make the best even of the poor ships they 
had; and for knowledge of the sea itself, and of its 
storms and currents, and of the harbors of its coasts, 
the Romans had to depend upon people of other 
cities, whom they hired to help them. The only way 
that the Romans could hope to win a sea-fight was by 
getting their vessels right up alongside the ships of the 



134 THE CITY OF THE SEVEX HILLS. 

enemy, and then fighting it out with their spears and 
swords, just as they would a battle on the land. 

To enable their vessels to do this, some clever 
Roman thought out a plan which all the ships adopted. 
A strong mast was planted in the prow of every 
Roman vessel, and about this was fastened a long 
plank or platform, in such a way that the outer end of 
the plank could be pulled up and let down, like the 
drawbridge of a castle, in front or on either side of the 
vessel. At the end of the plank, and pointing down- 
ward, a long spike was fixed, so that when the plank 
was let fall this spike would sink into the deck of the 
enemy's ship and hold it fast. When the platform was 
raised against the mast, this sharp piece of iron stick- 
ing out in front looked so much like the strong bill of a 
great bird that the Romans called the whole thing a 
crow. 

When the Carthaginians saw the Roman ships sail- 
ing up to meet them, they were puzzled at first by the 
strange structures in their bows; but they knew that 
the Romans were ignorant of everything that had to 
do with managing ships, so they supposed that they 
would have an easy victory. They rowed straight out 
to meet the Romans, therefore, and sought to ram the 
Roman vessels with the prows of their own ships. But 
no sooner did a Carthaginian vessel come within reach 
of a Roman one, than down fell the "crow" of the 
latter, and the two ships were held firmly together. 
Then Roman soldiers poured across the bridge thus 
made, and soon they had captured the vessel. In this 
way the Romans captured or destroyed fifty of the 
Carthaginian ships, and those that were left were glad 



ROME AND THE CARTHAGINIANS. 135 

enough to turn and flee from the terrible Roman 
"crows. " 

This was the first Roman victory on the sea, but 
after it they won many others. Now that they had a 
fleet, moreover, the Romans could take an army across 
the sea to Africa, and there fight the Carthaginians in 
their own land. This they did ; and the Roman gen- 
eral, Regulus, was very successful there for a time, 
and, at last, brought the Carthaginians so low that 
they were forced to ask for peace. 

Then Regulus showed how little he knew the brave 
people with whom he was fighting. He seemed to 
think that Carthage was as completely conquered as 
the little Italian towns which Rome had been taking, 
one by one, for so many years. The terms of peace 
which he offered were so hard that the Carthaginians 
concluded that they could not be left in a worse condi- 
tion even if Carthage itself was captured; so they 
resolved to continue the war. Fortunately for them, 
the Carthaginians now found a good general, who knew 
how to use their cavalry and their elephants. Soon 
Regulus himself was defeated and taken prisoner; and 
for five years he was kept a captive at Carthage while 
the war continued on land and sea. 

It had been thirteen years since the Romans had 
first crossed over into Sicily, when ambassadors were 
again sent to treat about peace. According to the 
stories which have come down to us, Regulus was now 
taken from his prison and sent to Rome, along with the 
Carthaginian ambassadors, to assist them in bringing 
about the peace ; and he was made to promise that if 
peace was not made he would return at once to Carthage. 



136 THE CITY OF THE SEVEX HILLS. 

The Carthaginians sent Regulus with the ambassa- 
dors because they thought that, for his own sake, he 
would do all that he could to help bring the war to a 
close. But when Regulus reached Rome, he was noble 
enough to forget himself in his love for his country. 
He advised the Senate not to make peace, and not to 
exchange their Carthaginian prisoners for the Romans 
who were in the hands of Carthage ; and in the speech 
which he made in the Senate he is reported to have 
said: 

"Let not the Senate buy with gold what ought to be 
won back only by force of arms; and let those Romans 
who surrendered when they ought to have died in 
battle, die at last in the land that saw their disgrace." 

When Regulus said this, he knew that if he went 
back to Carthage after such a speech, the Cartha- 
ginians would put him to death. For a while the Sen- 
ate hesitated, out of pity for him ; but at last the peace 
which the Carthaginians asked was refused. Then 
Regulus went quietly back to Carthage, as he had 
promised; and if we may believe the story, the Cartha- 
ginians cruelly put him to death, as he had expected 
that they would do. 

For ten years longer, the war dragged on, until at 
last neither Carthage nor Rome had money or men to 
spend in further efforts. Rome had been most unfor- 
tunate at sea. Fleet after fleet which she sent to 
Sicily and Africa was wrecked and destroyed by the 
terrible storms which rage there at certain seasons of 
the year, and which the Romans did not know how to 
guard against. 

After this had happened several times, the Romans 



ROME AND THE CARTHAGINIANS. 137 

determined to make one more effort. Their ships were 
all gone, and there was no money in the treasury to 
build new ones; but the wealthy citizens of Rome 
joined together and built a fleet of two hundred vessels 
at their own expense; and they only asked, in return, 
that if the city could ever repay them, it would do so. 

With this fleet the Romans again set out, and this 
time they were as successful as they had been the first 
time they took to the sea. They had now learned 
from their mistakes and misfortunes, while the Cartha- 
ginians had become careless; so, when the Romans 
came up with the Carthaginian fleet off the western 
coast of Sicily, they sunk fifty of the enemy's vessels 
and captured seventy more. 

Then Carthage and Rome made peace, for they saw 
that neither city could wholly conquer the other, at 
that time. Carthage had got the worst of it in this first 
war; so she was obliged to give up all claim to Sicily, 
to release the Roman prisoners without a ransom, and 
besides this, to pay to Rome a large sum of money for 
the expenses of the war. Rome took possession of the 
part of Sicily which the Carthaginians had held, and 
set up a government over it ; and before many years 
had gone by, the whole island had passed under her 
control. In this way arose Rome's first possession 
outside of Italy. 



138 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



XIX 

The War with Hannibal. 

AFTER the Carthaginians had made peace with 
f\ Rome, and had withdrawn their troops from 
Sicily, they had to endure three terrible years of war- 
fare with their own subjects and soldiers, in the coun- 
try round about Carthage. But through all this time 
of defeat and disaster, there was one man among them 
who remained undismayed. 

This was Hamilcar, the greatest of their generals 
and the only man among the Carthaginians whom the 
Romans at that time feared. Hamilcar had fought 
Rome successfully, as long as his city could give him 
money and men to fight with ; and when he saw that 
Carthage could do no more, it was he who had made 
the peace. He had no thought of a lasting peace with 
Rome, however; he hated that city as much as he loved 
Carthage, and he was already planning a way to injure 
her, while he made up to his own country for the loss 
of Sicily. Both of these objects he thought he could 
gain by conquering the Spanish peninsula, where the 
Carthaginians had already made settlements; and 
when he brought the matter before the Senate at 
Carthage, they gave him permission to take an army 
there and see what he could do. 

As Hamilcar was preparing to leave for Spain with 
his army, he went before the altar of one of the 



THE WAR WITH HANNIBAL. 139 

Carthaginian gods, and offered sacrifice for the success 
of his plans. During the sacrifice, his little son Hanni- 
bal, who was then about nine years old, stood beside 
him; and when it was over, Hamilcar turned to the 
boy and said: 

"Hannibal, would you like to go with me to Spain?" 

When the lad eagerly answered that he should like 
very much to do so, Hamilcar took him by the hand 
and led him to the altar, and said: 

"Then lay your hand upon the sacrifice, and swear 
that you will never be friends with Rome, so long as 
you shall live." 

The boy did as he was bidden ; and in due time he 
was taken away to Spain, with the thought deep in his 
breast that he was now the enemy of Rome forever. 
From that time, he grew up in the camp of his father, 
and his daily lessons were in the arts of war and of 
generalship. He was his father's companion while 
Hamilcar conquered the rich peninsula of Spain for 
Carthage; and before Hamilcar had died, Hannibal 
had learned all that his father could teach him of war- 
fare and of government. 

After Hamilcar was gone, Hannibal proved himself 
a worthy son of so great a father; and when he was 
only twenty-seven years of age, he was chosen to fill 
his father's place as commander of the Carthaginian 
army. This army was made up, in large part, of men 
from the conquered nations in Spain; but under the 
leadership of Hannibal, it did not matter much who the 
soldiers were who made up the army. His men 
became simply the soldiers of Hannibal, and were so 
filled with love and admiration for their general, that 



140 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

they were ready to follow him anywhere and do any- 
thing that he commanded. 

When Hannibal had got his army in good condition, 
he attacked a town in Spain that was friendly to Rome, 
and conquered it. The Roman Senate was already 
beginning to fear this son of Hamilcar as it had 
feared Hamilcar himself, and when news came of the 
attack on this friendly town, it sent ambassadors to 
Carthage to demand that Hannibal should be given 
up to the Romans. But the Carthaginians would not 
consent to this. Then the leader of the Roman ambas- 
sadors gathered up the folds of his toga and held them 
before him, saying: 

"I carry here peace and war; which shall I give to 
you?" 

"You may give us whichever you choose," replied 
the Carthaginians. 

"Then I give you war," cried the Roman, as he 
shook out the folds of his toga. 

In this way, the second war between Rome and Car- 
thage was declared. But it was not really a war 
between the two states which now began. It was 
rather a war between all the power of Rome, on the 
one side, and Hannibal, with his devoted army and 
his vow of hatred to the Romans, on the other. When 
Hannibal heard in Spain that war had been declared, 
he was prepared for it, and needed only to think how 
he should attack his enemies. 

He was determined that this war should be fought 
on Roman, and not on Carthaginian, ground. That 
meant that the war was to be fought in Italy. Hanni- 
bal had the choice of two ways of reaching Italy from 



THE WAR WITH HANNIBAL. 



141 



Spain. He might cross the sea in Carthaginian ships, 
or he might go by land, through Spain and Gaul. If 
he chose the latter way, he would have to make a 
long march through an unfriendly country, and cross 
the Alps, which are the highest mountains in Europe. 
If he chose to go by sea, he ran the risk of wreck by 
storms, and defeat and capture by the Roman fleet, 




HANNIBAL. 



which was now stronger than that of the Carthaginians. 
Either way, it was a choice of evils. 

Hannibal chose to go by land ; but we may be sure 
of one thing, and that is, that he did not know quite 
how difficult a path it was that he had taken. He was 
the greatest man of his time, but he had no good way 
of learning the simple facts about the world he lived in 



142 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

which you are taught in every day's geography lesson. 
The thought of the mountains to be climbed, and the 
rivers to be crossed, in the long journey, did not make 
him hesitate, for he did not fully know them. He 
knew that the Gauls had passed through the high Alps, 
— then why could not he do it also? He could have 
had no clear idea even of the distance his soldiers 
would have to march before they reached Italy; for his 
guides at any time could tell him the way and the dis- 
tances for only a few days' march ahead, and when that 
was passed he would have to find other persons who 
knew the country beyond, and would undertake to 
guide his army on. 

In was in the month of April that Hannibal started 
on his long march. Besides the many thousand men, 
both infantry and cavalry, who made up his army, he 
took with him thirty-seven of the Carthaginian ele- 
phants to use in battle, and many horses and mules to 
carry the baggage of the army. 

As soon as he got out of the territory that had been 
conquered by Carthage, his troubles began. He had 
to fight his way against unfriendly natives through 
northern Spain ; and it was midsummer before he had 
crossed the mountains which separate the peninsula 
from Gaul. Then, in a short time, he came to the 
swift-flowing river Rhone. Here the Gauis gathered 
on the opposite bank, and tried to prevent him from 
crossing. Hannibal soon overcame these enemies, 
however, and led his army safely over in canoes and 
boats, which his men collected along the river; but the 
elephants could only be taken over after he had pre- 
pared great rafts on which to ferry them across. 



THE WAR WITH HANNIBAL. U3 

After they had crossed the Rhone, the way was easy 
until they came to the foot of the Alps; but there the 
greatest difficulties of the march began. The way now 
lay along steep, narrow paths, up which the horses and 
elephants could scarcely climb ; and often a single slip 
or misstep would have been enough to send them roll- 
ing and tumbling a thousand feet down the mountain 
side, to be dashed to pieces on the rocks below. The 
people who inhabited the mountains, too, were un- 
friendly to the Carthaginians. They stationed them- 
selves on either side of the zigzag path up which the 
army toiled, and hurled stones and weapons upon them 
from the heights above. These threw the long line of 
baggage animals into great disorder, and the wounded 
and frightened horses galloped back and forth, and 
either fell themselves or crowded others off over the 
cliffs and down the mountain side, carrying with them 
as they fell baggage which the army could ill afford to 
lose. Again and again Hannibal was obliged to take 
some of his best men and clamber up the cliffs and 
over the rocks to attack and drive off these enemies; 
and once in such an attempt he and his men were 
separated from the rest of the army, and were forced 
to remain on their guard all night long under the 
shelter of a great white rock which stood by the side of 
the path. 

At last, on the ninth day after they had begun their 
ascent, the army reached the summit of the pass. 
After that they were no longer troubled by attacks 
from the mountain tribes. Here Hannibal remained 
for two days, in order to rest his men and beasts; and 
while the army was here, many of the horses which 



144 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

had taken fright and run away, and many of the beasts 
of burden, which had got rid of their loads, came 
straggling into camp, having followed the tracks of the 
army. 

After they had rested sufficiently, they began the 
descent into Italy. But now new difficulties presented 
themselves. The way was now down-hill, but the 
slope was more abrupt than it was on the other side of 
the mountains. It was now late in the autumn, more- 
over; and as the snow falls early in these high regions, 
the paths were already covered with a thin coating of 
new-fallen snow, which caused the men and beasts to 
slip and made the descent more dangerous than the 
ascent had been. At one place, too, they found that a 
landslide had completely blocked up the path, and it 
took four anxious days of hard labor to cut out a new 
one for the horses and elephants in the side of the 
steep and rocky cliff. 

But, through all their trials and dangers, Hannibal 
cheered and encouraged the army. When they 
reached a height from which the rich plain of the val- 
ley of the River Po could be seen in the distance, he 
called his men about him, and pointing to it, he said: 

"There is Italy! There are friends waiting to wel- 
come you and aid you against the tyrant Rome ! You 
have now climbed not only the walls of Italy, but of 
Rome itself; and after one, or at most two, battles, all 
these fertile fields will be yours. " 

Then the soldiers pushed on with new courage ; and 
on the fifteenth day after they had entered the Alps, 
they came out on the other side of them, in Italy. But 
the army was terribly weakened by the hardships of 



THE WAR WITH HANNIBAL. M5 

the way and the fights with the natives. More than 
half of the men and horses, and many of the elephants, 
had been lost; and the soldiers who remained were so 
broken and worn by their sufferings that they looked 
not like men, but like the shadows of men. 

Still, the courage of Hannibal did not fail him. He 
camped his men at the foot of the Alps among friendly 
tribes of the Gauls, and allowed them to rest and 
refresh themselves for several days, while the poor lean 
horses were turned out to pasture ; and soon all were 
ready once more to follow wherever he chose to lead 
them. 

The Romans had not expected that Hannibal would 
attempt to cross the Alps and carry the war into Italy; 
or, if any of them did expect it, they had no idea that 
he would succeed so well and so soon. So, when news 
came that Hannibal was already in Italy, the Romans 
were surprised and dismayed ; but still they hurriedly 
gathered together their forces, and sent them on to 
meet the enemy. 

Any one but Hannibal they might have stopped, but 
Hannibal they could not check. He defeated them in 
battle after battle, and swept on through their country, 
with his little army, in a torrent that could not be 
resisted. The Romans fought desperately, aroused by 
fear for the city itself ; but the armies that faced Han- 
nibal were destroyed in quick succession. In one 
battle the Romans lost nearly 70,000 men, including 
eighty senators ; and the Carthaginians gathered from 
the rich men who had fallen on that field enough gold 
rings to fill a bushel measure. After that, the name of 
Hannibal became a word of terror to old and young alike ; 



146 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

and nearly two hundred years after this time, the mem- 
ory of that terror still lingered. A Roman poet then 
wrote of him, and called him "the dread Hannibal," and 
said that his march through Italy was like the sweep of 
the eastern gales that had wrecked so many Roman fleets 
. in the waters of Sicily, or like the rush of flames 
through a blazing forest of pines. 

The Romans had learned how to defeat the Gauls 
and the Greeks in battle, but they were long in learn- 
ing how to defeat Hannibal. He was greater than 
they, and, as long as he remained in Italy, the city of 
Rome trembled. But the Senate remained strong in 
the midst of the public terror, and while the people 
mourned for their dead, the Senators only sought men 
for another army to take the place of the one that had 
last been destroyed. Their generals, too, though they 
could not defeat Hannibal in battle, learned to be 
cautious; and they would no longer lead their armies 
out to fight against him, but hung about watching his 
camp, in order to cut off any of the Carthaginians who 
might become separated from the main body while 
searching for food for themselves or for their horses. 
In this way, they sought to wear out Hannibal by cut- 
ting off his supplies, and so make it necessary at last 
for him to leave Italy of his own accord. 

In the end, Rome succeeded, as she always did. 
"The Romans," said an old writer who described this 
war, "are never so dangerous as when they seem just 
about to be conquered." Hannibal found, as Pyrrhus 
had done before him, that he was fighting a people 
who could replace a defeated army with another which 
was just as ready as the first to fight to the death. 



THE WAR WITH HANNIBAL. 



147 



Most of the peoples of Italy, too, remained faithful to 
Rome in this time of trial; and Hannibal was disap- 
pointed in getting the help from them, against their 
conqueror, upon which he had counted. So, at last, he 

was forced to look to Africa and to Spain for new men 

and for supplies for his army; and when his brother 

came over the Alps, bring- 
ing him help from Spain, 

he was defeated and slain 

by the Romans before 

Hannibal knew that he 

was in Italy. Besides this, 

the Senate found men and 

ships enough to carry the 

war over into Spain and 

Africa; and, by and by, 

the Carthaginians were 

forced to order Hannibal 

to give up his plans in Italy 

in order to return to de- 
fend Carthage itself 
against the attacks of 

Rome. 

So, after fifteen years of 
victories, which brought 
the war no nearer a close, 

Hannibal was obliged at last to leave Italy and return 
to Africa. It was the first time he had been back 
since he had left there, as a boy, thirty-six years 
before. When he arrived, he found Carthage much 
weakened by the war. The general in command of 
the Roman army there was Publius Cornelius Scipio, 




SCIPIO AFRICANUS. 



148 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HTLLS. 

or "Scipio Africanus, " as he soon came to be called, 
from his deeds in Africa. He was an able general, 
and had just brought the war in Spain to an end; 
where, as he reported to the Senate, he "had fought 
with four generals and four victorious armies, and 
had not left a single Carthaginian soldier in the 
peninsula. ' ' Now he was to do something greater still, 
something that no Roman had ever yet done,-^that is, 
to defeat Hannibal in an open battle. 

This battle took place near a little town called Zama, 
which was about two hundred miles inland from Car- 
thage. Scipio had more troops than Hannibal, but 
Hannibal had about eighty elephants, and he hoped to 
win the battle with these. The Romans, however, 
were now thoroughly used to fighting against ele- 
phants; they opened great lanes in their ranks, and let 
the elephants pass harmlessly through, while the sol- 
diers hurled spears and other weapons at them to drive 
them along or turn them back. Then the Roman 
foot-soldiers charged the Carthaginians, shouting their 
war-cry and clashing their swords against their shields. 
After a hard fight the Carthaginians were overcome. 
Hannibal alone, with a few of his horsemen, succeeded 
in escaping, and he at once advised the Carthaginian 
Senate to make peace. 

The terms of the peace were much harder than they 
had been at the close of the first war. Carthage had 
to give up all of her possessions outside of Africa, and 
surrender all of her elephants, and all of her warships 
but ten. She had also to pay an indemnity of about 
twelve million dollars to Rome, and to agree never to 
make war on any one without the consent of the 



THE WAR WITH HANNIBAL. H9 

Roman Senate. In this way, Carthage ceased to be 
the head of a great empire, and became merely the 
ruler of a little strip of territory along the coast of 
Africa. 

After the treaty was signed, Hannibal remained at 
Carthage, and tried faithfully to help his country in 
peace as he had helped her in war. But the Romans 
feared him still, and distrusted him, and before many 
years had passed, he was forced to fly from the city to 
avoid being put to death by their orders. After that, he 
wandered about from kingdom to kingdom, on the 
eastern shores of the Mediterranean. But wherever 
he went, Roman messengers followed, and would not 
let him rest in peace ; and, at last, after thirteen years 
of wandering, he was forced to take his own life to 
avoid falling into the hands of his unforgiving enemies. 



150 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



XX 

Rome Conquers the World. 

THE victory which Rome had won over Hannibal 
meant something more to the Romans than sav- 
ing their country from the Carthaginians. It meant 
the spread of Roman rule from Italy and Sicily over 
into Africa, Spain and Greece, and even into Asia. 
The Carthaginians were the only people of that day 
who were strong enough to resist the Romans for any 
length of time. When they were defeated, at last, 
there was no other nation in the world that could oppose 
the power of Rome successfully. Besides this, the 
Romans were the only people that knew how to rule 
well, and could put down pirates and robbers, and 
make the world safe for men to live in. Whenever 
trouble would arise in any country, the Romans would 
interfere; and then it would not be long before the old 
government would cease, and the Romans would be 
ruling that country as part of their own land. 

Before sixty years had passed from the close of the 
second war with Carthage, Rome had, in this way, 
become the ruler of almost all the lands that border 
upon the Mediterranean Sea; and she had gained this 
great power without any one planning it beforehand, 
or intending to bring it about. 

You have seen that the Romans received Sicily after 
the first war with Carthage. During the second war, 



ROME CONQUERS THE WORLD. 



I5i 



while Hannibal was in Italy, they conquered Spain; 
and they kept it for themselves after this war was 
over. Then they felt the need of conquering- northern 
Italy and southern Gaul, so that their armies could 
march from Rome to Spain without being attacked by 




100 *» *» «oo *» 



enemies on the way ; and this land also was added to 
the Roman rule. In this way, Rome came to rule over 
almost all of the western part of the Mediterranean 
world. 

It was not long before the Romans reached out into 
the eastern part of the Mediterranean also. Just north 



152 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

of Greece was a country called Macedonia, whose king 
had sent soldiers to Hannibal, at the battle of Zama, to 
aid him against the Romans. To punish him for this, 
the Romans made war upon him, and defeated him ; 
and, when his son Perseus took up arms after his 
father's death, they defeated him also. Then the 
Romans began to rule over Macedonia, and over 
Greece as well, for the Greeks had long been ruled by the 
Macedonians, and were now no longer able to rule them- 
selves. And the Romans even went over into Asia 
Minor and made war on a great king there, who was 
interfering with affairs in Europe, and who besides was 
sheltering Hannibal after the Romans had caused him 
to be driven from Carthage. In this war, the Romans 
were easily victorious ; and, after this, all of Asia that 
lay along the Mediterranean came under Roman influ- 
ence also. 

By this time, the Roman name had become a great 
one throughout all the world about the Mediterranean 
Sea. Whenever the ruler of a country was threatened 
by an enemy, and was too weak to meet him alone, his 
first thought was to call upon the Romans for help. 
In this way the ruler of Egypt begged the help of 
Rome, when a neighboring king made war upon his 
country. The Senate sent an ambassador to this king, 
and when they met the Roman drew a circle with his 
staff on the ground about the king, and said : 

"Before you step out of the circle which I have 
drawn, answer this question, O King. Which will you 
do, give up your war upon Egypt and have Rome for 
your friend; or continue it and have Rome for your 
enemy?" 



ROME CONQUERS THE WORLD. 153 

It did not take the king long to decide that it was 
best to give up the war. After that the Romans had 
much influence in Egypt, because they had saved the 
country from its enemies; and in the course of time, 
it too was joined to the Roman lands. 

In the meantime, Carthage had been slowly recover- 
ing from her last war with Rome. Once more, her 
streets were filled with citizens and her harbors with 
ships; and the city was growing strong and wealthy 
again. But now a stern old Roman named Cato went 
to Africa and visited Carthage, and, seeing the city 
growing prosperous once more, he feared that it might 
again become able to fight with Rome on equal terms. 
When he returned to Italy he bore away with him a 
bunch of fine figs, plucked in the gardens of Car- 
thage. Upon reaching Rome, he spoke long and ear- 
nestlv in the Senate of the danger which the 
Carthaginians might yet be able to bring upon the 
city, and then he showed to the Senators the fresh figs 
which he had brought back with him. 

"The country where these grew is but three days' 
sail from Rome," he said. "Carthage should be 
destroyed." 

And after this he never ended a speech in the Sen- 
ate, no matter what he had been talking about, without 
adding, "And, moreover, I think that Carthage should 
be destroyed. ' ' 

At last Cato persuaded the Romans to make war 
upon Carthage a third time. In spite of the brave 
defense of the city by the Carthaginians, when even 
the women and children joined in the fight, the 
Romans were victorious once more. This time the city 



154 THE CITY OF THE SEVEX HILLS. 

was utterly destroyed, and the ground upon which the 
buildings had stood was ploughed over and sowed with 
salt, so that it might never more be used by men, or 
even covered by growing things again. Then Rome 
began to rule the land about Carthage, and so gained 
control of most of the northern coast of Africa. 

In this way, the city of Rome came to hold a power 
in the world greater than any nation has ever held 
before or since that day. And in whatever country 
the Romans went, they made their aqueducts and built 
bridges and raised public buildings, as they had been 
doing for so long in Italy itself. Above all, they built 
good roads to all the lands that came under their rule, 
so that they might send armies swiftly from one coun- 
try to another whenever there was need to do so. 
Along these roads they placed milestones, so that 
travelers might know at any time just how many miles 
they were from Rome ; and where the towns were far 
apart, stations were built by the way where they might 
rest and hire fresh horses to carry them on their 
journey to the next stopping-place. In this manner, 
the Romans made traveling by land much easier than 
it had ever been before, and thus distant lands were 
more closely connected with one another, just as they 
have been in our own day by the building of railroads 
and the putting up of telegraph and telephone wires. 

But Rome could not go out over the world and build 
in and rule over all the Mediterranean countries, with- 
out this making a great difference in the Romans 
themselves. Their great men were no longer like 
Cincinnatus, who left the plough to fight for his coun- 
try and then went back again when the danger was 



ROME CONQUERS THE WORLD. 155 

past. The Roman generals were now very rich men, 
and they spent all their time in war or in the pub- 
lic business of their country. And, instead of refusing 
the gifts of kings as Fabricius had refused the gold of 
Pyrrhus, it was said that the Roman generals asked 
for money wherever they went about the world. 

The common soldiers, too, were not so good as they 
had been in the old days. Then each man fought in 
the army without pay, and supported himself and his 
family in time of peace by means of his little farm. 
But now many men began to make a business of fight- 
ing, and to serve in the army for a living. As these 
men did not fight solely for the love of their country, 
but rather for the money that they got by it, they 
began to grumble when they were commanded to do 
things which they did not like to do, and sometimes 
they refused outright to do them. 

With such generals and such soldiers, it is not sur- 
prising that the Romans were now sometimes shame- 
fully beaten in battle. 

When they were carrying on the war in Macedonia 
against King Perseus, the first armies that were sent 
against him were defeated for just this reason. Then 
the Romans saw that there must be some change made, 
and they chose a general of the old-fashioned sort to 
take the command. His name was ^Emilius Paullus, 
and he was a poor man still, although he could easily 
have been rich if he had been willing to do as other 
men were doing. He had been one of the generals in 
Spain, and also in the north of Italy, and in both places 
he had shown that he knew how to manage his armies 
and to gain victories. So the people agreed that he 



156 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

was the man to send against King Perseus, and, rather 
against his wishes, they elected him consul, and voted 
to give him command of the army. 

JEmilius did not thank the people after they had 
chosen him consul, as was usually done. Instead of 
that he said: 

"I suppose, O Romans, that you have chosen me to 
lead in this war because you think that I can command 
better than anybody else. I shall expect, therefore, 
that you will obey my orders, and not give me orders 
yourselves ; for if you propose to command your own 
commander, you will only make my defeat worse than 
the former ones." 

When ^milius came to the army in Greece, he saw 
that the first thing to do was to teach the soldiers to 
obey orders. He kept them in camp and drilled them 
for many days ; and when they murmured and wanted 
to be led out to battle, he said to them : 

''Soldiers! you should not meddle with what does 
not concern you. It is your business only to see that 
you and your arms are ready when the order is given, 
and that, when your commander gives the word, you 
use your swords as Romans should." 

In this way, ^milius trained his army; and when 
the battle was fought, the Romans won a great vic- 
tory. King Perseus and his children and all his treas- 
ures were captured, and his country was brought under 
the Roman rule. But ^Emilius would not so much as 
go to see the heaps of gold and silver which had been 
taken from the king's palaces. Instead of making him- 
self and his friends rich from it, he commanded that it 
should all be sent to Rome and put into the public treas- 



ROME CONQUERS THE WORLD. 15 7 

ury ; and the amount of it was so great that never after 
that did Rome have need to raise a war tax from her 
own people. 

The common soldiers, however, were angry at this 
action of ^Emilius, for they wanted to divide this spoil 
among themselves; besides this, they disliked him 
because he ruled them so strictly. So, when the army 
had returned to Rome, and it was proposed that 
^Emilius should be allowed a triumph, the soldiers 
opposed the motion before the people. But an old 
general who had commanded in many wars arose, and 
said: 

"It is now clearer than ever to my mind how great a 
commander our ^milius is; for I see that he was able 
to do such great deeds with an army full of baseness 
and grumbling. ' ' 

At this, the soldiers were so ashamed that they let 
the people vote the triumph for ^milius. 

When the day for the celebration came, seats were 
set up in the Forum and in all parts of the city where 
the show could best be seen. On these the Roman 
people took their places, dressed in white garments 
and ready for the great holiday. The temples were 
all open and filled with flowers and garlands, and the 
main streets were cleared, and kept open by officers 
who drove back all who crowded into them. Then 
came the great procession, which lasted for three days. 

On the first day, two hundred and fifty chariots 
passed, filled with pictures and statues and other 
images which had been taken from the Greeks. 

On the second day, the rich armor which had been 
captured was shown ; and it made a fine sight, with the 



i58 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



light glancing from the polished helmets and shields, 
and with the swords and spears rattling about among 
the armor. After the wagons bearing this, marched 




TRIUMPHAL PROCESSION. 

three thousand men, each bearing a basin full of silver 
coin; and after them came others, bearing the silver 
bowls, goblets and cups which had been taken. 



ROME CONQUERS THE WORLD. 15 9 

But the third day was the finest sight of all. First, 
early in the morning came the trumpeters, sounding 
such notes as the Romans used to encourage their sol- 
diers in battle. Then came young men wearing robes 
with ornamented borders and leading one hundred and 
twenty fat oxen, all with their horns gilded, and with 
ribbons and garlands of flowers tied about their heads. 
These were for the sacrifices to the gods, which were 
to be offered at the temples on the Capitol ; and with 
them went boys bearing basins of gold and silver to be 
used by the priests in the offerings. 

After the cattle for the sacrifices came seventy-seven 
men, each carrying a basin filled with gold coin ; and 
with them marched those who carried the golden goblets 
and dishes which King Perseus had used at his table. 
Then came the chariot of the king, with his armor in 
it, and his crown lying on top of that. Then came the 
king's little children — two boys and a girl — with their 
attendants and teachers; and, as they passed along, 
the attendants wept and stretched out their hands, and 
begged the Romans to show mercy to the little princes. 
Many hearts were touched at the sight of this misfor- 
tune of tender children. 

Then, after a little space, came King Perseus him- 
self, clothed all in black, and walking quite alone, so 
that all the people might get a good look at him. 
After the king and his attendants had gone past, 
^Emilius himself appeared, riding in a splendid chariot, 
and dressed in a robe of purple mixed with gold, and 
holding in his right hand a laurel branch. And fol- 
lowing the chariot marched all the army, with laurel 
branches in their right hands, and singing songs of 



160 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

triumph, — just as though they had been the most 
obedient soldiers in the world. So the triumph ended. 
Many years before, you will remember, the Roman 
people had crowded the Forum to see Marcus Curtius 
leap into the chasm and sacrifice himself for the good 
of his country. What a different sight they had now 
come to watch — their great army coming home in 
triumph, burdened with the wealth of a conquered 
kingdom, and the king and his little children walking 
into a cruel captivity before the chariot of their gen- 
eral! The power of Rome had indeed grown greatly 
in the meantime; but if we could have seen both 
sights, perhaps we should have decided that, after all, 
the first one was the better for the Roman people. 



THE GRACCHI AND THEIR MOTHER. 161 



XXI 

The Gracchi and Their Mother. 

AFTER having watched the splendid triumph of 
i\ ^milius, let us see one of the more common 
sights of the city, — a Roman wedding. You will find 
it very unlike the weddings you may have seen among 
our own people, but, however strange the Roman cus- 
toms are to you, you must remember that they were 
very sacred to the Romans. 

Imagine that you are a Roman, and that it is your 
sister who is to be married. First, she is dressed in a 
garment made all of one piece of cloth, without any 
seams, and fastened about the waist with a woolen 
belt or girdle. Her hair is curled in six little curls, 
and it must not be parted with a comb, but with the 
point of a spear ; and about her head she wears a yel- 
low veil or net. In the evening, a procession is 
formed by the friends of both families, and the bride 
is taken from her father's house to that of her hus- 
band ; and along the way minstrels play on their harps, 
and bridal songs are sung, and a little boy marches on 
before, carrying a blazing torch made from the wood 
of the white-thorn tree. 

When the procession comes to the door of the bride- 
groom, the bride must wrap the doorposts with sacred 
fillets of white wool, and smear them with oil or fat. 
After that she must be carefully lifted over the doorsill 



162 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

by her husband. Some of the older people will tell 
you that this is done so that the bride may not stumble 
as she enters her husband's house for the first time, 
for that would be a very bad sign; but others will say 
that this is done in memory of the time when the fol- 
lowers of Romulus took wives from among the Sabine 
women by force. 

After the procession has entered the house, the bride 
turns and says to her husband : 

"Where thou art, Caius, there will I, Caia, be also." 

After these words, the husband presents her with 
fire and water, to show that she is now a member of 
his family, and can sit at his hearth and join in the 
worship of his household gods. After this comes the 
feast, with its wedding cake and plenty of nuts scattered 
about ; and then the wedding is over. 

This is the way that Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio 
Africanus, was married to Tiberius Gracchus. He 
was a fine soldier and a just and honorable man; and 
she was then a beautiful girl, with bright clear eyes, 
that showed a noble soul within. 

For many years they lived happily together, and had 
many children. Then, according to the story, he 
found in their sleeping-room one day a pair of large 
snakes. Now, the Romans looked upon snakes as 
something sacred; so Tiberius Gracchus went to the 
priests and asked what he should do with them. The 
priests answered that he must kill one of the snakes and 
let the other go; and they added, that if he killed the 
female snake, Cornelia would die, and that if he killed 
the male, he himself would shortly perish. 

Tiberius loved his wife very much ; so, when he 



THE GRACCHI AND THEIR MOTHER. 163 

heard this, he went home and killed the male snake, 
and let the female escape. And shortly after that he 
himself died. 

After that, Cornelia lived only for her children; and 
when the king of Egypt sent to her and wished her to 
become his queen, she would not consent. Only three 
of her children — two boys and a girl — lived to grow up 
to manhood and womanhood; and on these Cornelia 
catered all of her love and care. She lived with 
them, and played with them, and taught them their 
letters; and, as she was a noble, high-minded woman, 
her children grew up to be brave, honorable and truth- 
telling in all that they did. 

One day, as Cornelia was sitting at home, with the 
children playing in the courtyard within, a lady came 
to visit her. As she talked with Cornelia, this lady 
showed her the splendid rings and precious stones which 
she wore, and at last asked to see Cornelia's jewels. 

Then Cornelia called her little children, and when 
they stood before her and her visitor, she said: 

"These are my jewels." 

As her boys grew up to be men, Cornelia would 
sometimes reproach them that she was still known as 
the relative of the Scipios, and not as the mother of 
the Gracchi ; and in this way she made them long to do 
great deeds, so as to bring her honor. 

The oldest of the two boys was named Tiberius, 
after his father. When the time came for him to enter 
the army, he went at his work with so much earnest- 
ness that in a short time he excelled all the other 
young men in deeds of arms. 

When the Romans made war on Carthage for the 



164 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

third time, Tiberius Gracchus was the first man to get 
up on the wall of the city; and when he was in Spain, 
helping to carry on a war with the mountain tribes 
that lived in that peninsula, he saved the whole army 
from being destroyed as a result of the faults and mis- 
takes of its commander. 

But it is not for what he did as a soldier that we 
remember Tiberius Gracchus most frequently. It is 
rather for what he did after he returned to Rome and 
became a tribune of the people. 

During the terrible war with Hannibal, the small 
farmers had their farms ruined, and fled to the city. 
After the war was over, the land gradually passed into 
the hands of the Senators and rich men of Rome, and 
a few great farms took the place of many small ones. 
The worst of it was that these large farms were not 
tilled by free laborers, but by slaves, just as the land 
in the southern states was before our Civil War — except 
that the Roman slaves were white, and were treated 
ever so much more cruelly than our negro slaves ever 
were. So the poor freeman not only lost his land, but 
he lost the chance to work for hire also. The only 
thing he could do after that was either to enlist in the 
army and earn his living as a soldier, or else remain 
idly at Rome and cry out for bread to keep him alive 
and games to amuse him ; and the rich candidates for 
offices were so eager to get the aid of the poorer 
citizens that they gladly bought their votes by feeding 
and amusing them. But, in this way, both the rich 
and the poor became selfish and greedy, and thought 
only of what would help themselves, instead of what 
would be best for the whole people 



THE GRACCHI AND THEIR MOTHER. 165 

Tiberius Gracchus saw these evils, and when he 
became tribune, he tried to cure them. Much of the 
land which the rich men held really belonged to the 
state, though it had been out of the hands of the state 
for so many years that the people who held it had 
begun to forget chat they did not really own it. What 
Gracchus proposed to do was to take back this land, 
and divide it among the poor citizens, and so build up 
once more a strong class of small landholders, such as 
had made Rome fit to be a conquering nation. 

The men who already had this land did not like this 
plan at all ; so, when Gracchus brought forward his law 
for the people to vote on it, they got another tribune, 
named Octavius, to veto it, and that stopped the vot- 
ing. Then, when Gracchus found that he could not 
get Octavius to withdraw his veto, he got the people 
to put him out of his office and elect a new tribune in 
his place. This was against the law, but Gracchus did 
not see any other way of getting his measure passed. 

After this, the law which Gracchus had proposed 
was passed, and he and two other men were appointed 
to carry out the distribution of the lands. Before the 
work was done, however, Gracchus's year of office was 
up ; and he was afraid that as soon as he should be out 
of office, the rich citizens would not only find some way 
to stop the carrying out of the law, but they would 
also punish him for putting Octavius out of office. It 
was against the laws, at this time, for any one to be 
tribune two years in succession ; but Tiberius decided 
to disobey the laws once more, and get himself elected 
tribune a second time. 

When the Senators and rich citizens heard this, they 



1 66 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

were very angry, and determined to prevent it. When 
the day of the election came a riot broke out. 
Gracchus was accused of trying to make himself king. 
Then the Senators and rich men armed themselves 
with clubs and bits of benches and stools, and set upon 
the poorer citizens; and Tiberius Gracchus and three 
hundred of his followers were slain. 

Gracchus had been wrong in putting Octavius out of 
office, and in trying to get himself elected tribune a 
second time against the laws. But how much worse 
was the action of the Senators and rich citizens! In 
the old days, when the patricians and the plebeians 
struggled together, they did so peaceably and with 
respect for the laws. Now, in these new struggles 
between the party of the poor and the party of the 
rich, force was for the first time used and men were 
killed in a political struggle at Rome; and for this the 
Senators and rich men were chiefly to blame. 

Caius Gracchus was not at Rome when his brother 
was killed; he was, moreover, still a very young man, 
and had just begun his training in the army. For ten 
years longer he went on serving with the armies of 
Rome. Then, although the Senate tried unlawfully to 
keep him from returning to the city, he came back, 
and he too was elected tribune. 

Caius was much more hot-tempered than his brother 
had been. In spite of all that his mother Cornelia 
could do to prevent it, he resolved to carry out the 
plans of his brother Tiberius, and even to go further. 
He wanted to overturn the government by the Senate 
and the nobles, and put in its place a government b) T 
the people, with himself at their head. He got the 



THE GRACCHI AND THEIR MOTHER. 167 

support of the people for this by passing a law that 
they should always have grain sold to them at a low 
price. Then he got the support of many of the rich 
citizens, by passing laws which took rights and privi- 
leges from the Senators and gave them to the rich men 
who were not Senators. 

In this way, Caius Gracchus got much more power 
than his brother had had; and a law having now been 
passed which permitted one to be re-elected as tribune, 
Caius was made tribune a second time. After this, he 
was able to pass many laws to help the poorer citizens. 
But when he wished to go further, and to help the 
Italians who were not citizens of Rome, then the 
Romans selfishly deserted him. They were afraid 
that they would have to share their cheap grain and 
their free games with the Italians, so this law was not 
passed; and, at the next election, Caius Gracchus was 
not made tribune again. 

After that Gracchus tried to live quietly, as a private 
citizen, at Rome. But now that he was no longer 
tribune, the nobles soon found means to pick a quarrel 
with him ; and when a riot again broke out, Caius and 
many of his friends were put to death by the Senators, 
as Tiberius Gracchus had been before them. 

You would think that, after the death of her second 
son, poor Cornelia would be heart-broken and would 
never want to see Rome again, because of the ingrati- 
tude with which its citizens had treated her sons. But 
the Romans believed that you ought not to show 
sorrow at anything that might happen to you, no matter 
how dreadful it was. So Cornelia put on a brave face, 
and hid the suffering which was in her heart; and when 



1 68 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

she spoke of the deeds and deaths of her sons, she 
spoke of them without a sigh or a tear, just as if she 
were talking about some of the ancient heroes who had 
died ages before. So all men admired her for her 
courage and virtue; and in time the Roman people 
repented of their conduct towards her sons, and began 
to look upon them as the truest friends they had ever 
had. And when Cornelia died, a statue was set up to 
her, and underneath it were carved these words, as her 
best title to fame : 

"Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi." 



THE WARS OF CAWS MARIUS. 169 



XXII 

The Wars of Caius Marius. 

CAIUS MARIUS was a poor country lad who 
entered the army as a common soldier and, 
without the help of money or of a powerful family, 
rose to the highest position. It is said that when he was 
a boy, he one day caught in his cloak an eagle's nest, 
with seven young ones in it, as it was falling from a 
high tree. From this the wise men foretold that he 
should be seven times consul ; and Marius never rested 
until this saying came true. 

He gained his first knowledge of war in Spain under 
Scipio ^milianus. This Scipio was the son of ^Emilius 
Paulus, the conqueror of Macedonia, and had been 
adopted into the family of the Scipios by the son of 
the great Scipio Africanus; as he was also an able and 
honorable man, he was thus a very good master under 
whom to learn the art of war. Caius Marius profited 
well by the lessons which he learned in the camp of 
Scipio. And when Scipio was asked one day where 
the Romans would ever find so good a general as 
himself when he was gone, he turned and touched the 
shoulder of young Marius, who stood by, and said : 

"Here, perhaps." 

This encouraged Marius, and he struggled on for 
many years, gradually rising in the army and in the 
state from one position to another. At last the 



170 x THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

opportunity came when he could get himself elected 
consul, and have the command of an army himself. 

The opportunity came in this way. A king named 
Jugurtha arose in a little kingdom near Carthage, 
who gained his power in a most unjust manner, and 
then used it in a way that was even worse. At last 
the Roman Senate was forced to declare war upon him. 
He did not prove to be easily conquered, and the 
Roman generals who were sent against him did not 
seem to be able to bring the trouble to an end. At 
last Marius, who was with one of the generals as second 
in command, became very impatient over this delay in 
crushing Jugurtha, and resolved to go to Rome and 
try to get the command for himself. 

Now Marius was very well liked by the common 
soldiers because he had been one of themselves, and 
also because he ate the same coarse food and slept 
upon the same beds that they did, and would often help 
them with his own hands in digging ditches and throw- 
ing up earthworks. But the general of the army 
laughed at him because of his low birth; and when 
Marius applied to him for permission to go to Rome to 
become a candidate for consul, he said : 

"It will be time enough for you to become candidate 
for consul when my young son does. ' ' 

This angered Marius; and when he came to Rome 
he told the people how slowly the war was going on 
and how much better he could carry it on. As he was 
one of themselves, the common people believed him 
and elected him consul, and by a special vote they gave 
him the command of the army against Jugurtha. 

When Marius returned to Africa, he found that it 



THE WARS OF CAWS MARIUS. 1 7 1 

was more difficult to bring the war to an end than he 
had expected. But at last Jugurtha was betrayed to 
him by one of his own household, and then Marius 
ended the war and brought the king captive to Rome. 

No sooner was this war over than another one broke 
out which threatened the Romans with such a terrible 
danger that they elected Marius consul a second time 
to meet this new enemy; and then they elected him a 
third time, and a fourth time, and at last he was consul 
five times before the danger was past. It began to 
look as if the old prophecy would come true. 

This new war was with a fierce and numerous people 
who came from the northeast and overran Gaul and 
threatened to pass over into Italy. They were called 
by several names, but they were probably Germans, 
and belonged to the same family of nations from which 
the Germans of to-day, the English, and most of the 
Americans are descended. They had large, strong 
bodies, and fierce blue eyes, and they terrified the 
Romans more even than the Gauls had done two 
hundred and eighty years before. Like the Gauls, they 
came in great numbers, carrying their wives and chil- 
dren and all their possessions with them in rude, covered 
wagons, and wandered about looking for a new home 
in which to settle. 

The Romans first met these new-comers in that part 
of Gaul which had come under Roman rule. There 
four great armies of the Romans were destroyed one 
after the other. Then it was that Marius was elected 
consul a second time, and sent into Gaul to take the 
command and keep these Germans from crossing the 
Alps and coming into Italy. 



1 7 2 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

Fortunately for the Romans, the barbarians turned 
aside into Spain after their last great victory, and 
wandered about in that country for two or three years. 
Thus Marius had time to get together a new army, and 
to drill his men and make them good soldiers. When 
the barbarians came back from Spain, they separated 
and one band of them started to go north around the 
Alps and enter Italy from the east, while the others 
remained in Gaul, and tried to enter the peninsula 
from the western side. 

Even after so large a part of the Germans had left 
Gaul, Marius did not dare to lead his men out of camp 
against those that remained. For six days he let them 
march continuously past his camp ; and as they went 
by they shouted taunts to the Romans and asked 
whether they had any messages to send to their wives. 
Then when the last of this band, too, had disappeared, 
Marius led his army out, and followed after them. 

He came up with them just before they reached the 
Alps. By this time Marius had his soldiers so well 
trained that he decided to risk a battle. The result 
was a great victory for the Romans ; for this band of 
the barbarians was entirely destroyed, and their kings 
were made captives. 

Then Marius hurried on into Italy and marched to 
the aid of the other consul, who had been sent to meet 
the band who were seeking to enter the peninsula from 
the east. This consul was not so good a general as 
Marius, so the barbarians succeeded in getting into 
Italy on that side. When Marius arrived, they sent to 
him and demanded lands in Italy on which they and 
their brethren, whom they had left in Gaul, might 



THE WARS OF CAWS MARIUS. IJ3 

settle. Then Marius showed them the captives who 
had been taken there, and said : 

"Do not trouble yourselves for your brethren, for 
we have already provided lands for them which they 
shall possess forever." 

Then the Germans were filled with grief and with 
anger, for they knew that their brethren had been 
destroyed. But the chiefs of their army challenged 
Marius to fix the time and place for a battle; and 
Marius named the third day after that for the day, and 
a broad plain near by for the place. When the battle 
came, the Germans fought with great bravery, and 
their women, standing in the wagons, encouraged their 
husbands and brothers with fierce cries; but at last 
the Romans were victorious and this band also of the 
barbarians was destroyed. 

After this Marius returned to Rome, and there he 
was received with great honor and rejoicing. And men 
called him the third founder of the city ; for, they said, 
just as Camillus saved Rome from the Gauls, so Ma- 
rius had saved it from these new invaders. And soon 
after he was elected consul for the sixth time. 

If Marius had been a statesman as well as a soldier, 
he might now have used his power to remedy the evils 
which the Gracchi had tried to cure, and so have saved 
the state. But though Marius could win battles, he 
could not rule the state in time of peace. Long after 
this, men said of him that" he never cared to be a good 
man, so he was a great one;" and perhaps that is the 
reason he failed as a ruler. At any rate, Marius hesi- 
tated to take either the side of the common people, or 
of the nobles, for he wished only to do the thing that 



174 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



would benefit himself. In this way Marius lost the 
influence which he had gained by his victories ; and for 
twelve years the conqueror of the Germans was despised 
and neglected by both parties. 

At last civil war began between the party of the 
common people and the party of the nobles. The 
nobles had a famous general named Sulla to command 
their army; so the leaders of the common people chose 
Marius, although he was then nearly seventy years old, 
to be their general. Marius had long 
been jealous of Sulla, and besides he 
was eager to gain the seventh con- 
sulship that had been promised him, 
so he accepted the command. But 
at first the party of Sulla got the 
better of the party of Marius; and 
when Sulla marched on Rome, the 
city was taken by his army. This 
was the first time that Rome was ever 
captured by an army of its own citi- 
zens, but it was not to be the last time. 
When Rome was taken by Sulla, 
Marius escaped with much difficulty. For many days 
he wandered about Italy with only a few companions. 
At one time they barely escaped a party of horsemen 
on the shore by swimming out to some ships which were 
sailing by. At another time they lay hid in a marsh 
with the mud and water up to their necks. Once Marius 
was taken prisoner and the officers of the town where he 
was imprisoned sent a Gaulish slave to kill him in his 
dungeon; but Marius's eyes gleamed so fiercely in the 
darkness as he called out in a loud voice, "Fellow. 




THE WARS OF CAIUS MARIUS. 175 

darest thou kill Cains Marius?" that the slave dropped 
his sword and fled. Then the officers of the town 
were ashamed, and they let Marius go ; and he escaped 
to Carthage in Africa. But even there he was not 
safe, for the Roman governor of that district sent men 
to warn him to leave ; and when the men had told their 
message, Marius replied: "Go, tell the governor that 
you have seen Caius Marius sitting in exile among the 
ruins of Carthage." 

At last Sulla was obliged to leave Italy and go to 
Asia Minor to make war on a powerful king who had 
arisen there. Then the friends of Marius got control of 
Rome once more ; and Marius could safely return. When 
he came back his heart was filled with bitterness against 
his enemies, and he caused thousands of them to be put 
to death without trial or hearing; and even his friends 
came to fear this gloomy and revengeful old man. 

At this time Marius gained his seventh consulship ; 
but he did not live long to enjoy it. He fell into 
strange ways, and could not sleep at night; perhaps 
his conscience was troubling him for all the suffering 
he had caused. At last he died, on the seventeenth 
day of his seventh consulship; and all the world 
breathed freer when he was gone. 

But soon Sulla returned from the East, and when he 
had regained his power he took a terrible revenge on 
all the friends of Marius. Many persons were put to 
death only because some one of Sulla's friends desired 
their goods. And the Italian cities which had rebelled 
against Rome in this time of trouble were punished 
with great severity; and so terribly was Italy wasted 
that it seemed as if Hannibal had come again. 



i 7 6 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



XXIII 

Cicero, the Orator. 

AT the time that the war with Jugurtha was coming 
to an end, a boy was born at Marius's old home 
near Rome, who was to become as famous as Marius, 
but in a better and nobler way. He was to be a great 
orator and writer, and rule the state by his speaking 
as others ruled it by force of arms. As it takes more 
training to be great in this way than it does to be great 
as a soldier, perhaps you would like to hear how this 
boy was educated for his task. "We will start with him 
as a tiny baby and follow him until he is a grown man. 

First of all came the naming of the boy. This 
always took place on the eighth day after its birth, if 
the baby was a girl, but on the ninth day if the baby 
was a boy. So on the ninth day our baby was named, 
and he was given the name of his father and called 
"Marcus Tullius Cicero. " The day was made a day 
of rejoicing in the family, and little gifts were hung 
about the baby's neck for him to play with. 

After that the little fellow grew as most babies grow, 
and in time he learned to walk, and to talk in childish 
Latin. Perhaps, too, he began to speak Greek, even 
this early, from listening to the talk of some old slave 
or nurse of that country, — for the Roman boys and 
girls of this time often learned Greek in their homes 
just as American children sometimes learn German. 



CICERO, THE ORATOR. 1 7 7 

During his earliest years it was the child's mother 
who had the most to do with his education, just as you 
have seen Cornelia training her children. From his 
mother the boy learned to be pure in heart, and to be 
saving, modest, brave, earnest and obedient; and 
stories were told him of his forefathers, and of the 
ancient heroes who had made Rome great because they 
possessed these virtues. 

When he became a little older and did not need the 
care of his mother so much, the father also began to 
take part in the education of young Marcus. Often he 
would take the little fellow with him, as he walked 
about to see that the slaves were cultivating his fields 
properly ; and when he went to the house of a friend, 
and even sometimes when he went to the Forum of the 
little town where he lived, he would let the boy go 
with him. He taught the boy, too, manly exercises 
such as wrestling, riding and swimming. And when 
prayers were said to the gods by the father, and when 
sacrifices were offered on the family altar, the little 
boy stood by, or perhaps took some part in them ; and 
so he learned about the gods that the Romans 
worshiped. 

When Marcus Cicero became six or seven years old, 
it was time for him to begin to go to school. Because 
the schools in Rome were better than the schools in the 
country town where his parents lived, the boy was now 
taken to Rome to live with his uncle's family, and to 
go to school with his cousins. 

The Roman schools were very different from the 
schools you go to. They began at sunrise, and in order 
not to be tardy the children had to be up and ready 



i?8 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



before daybreak. They carried lanterns with them to 
light their way, and slaves went with them to and from 
school to see that no harm befell them. 

In the schoolroom, the schoolmaster sat on a raised 
platform at one end of the room, while the boys and 
girls sat on stools and benches in front of him. Around 
the walls there were lyres, or harps, to be used in the 








ROMAN BOOKS AND WRITING MATERIALS. 



In two of the pictures purses and heaps of coins are also shown. 



music lessons, and also pictures of the gods or of 
scenes from the history of Rome. On one of the walls 
a board was hung on which were written the names of 
all absent or truant pupils. Above the master's bench 
there was a great stick, and many of the boys looked 
tremblingly at it when they did not know their lessons. 



CICERO, THE OR A TOR. 1 7 9 

In this lowest school, the children learned to read 
and to write. Instead of slates or sheets of paper, 
they had wooden tablets covered with wax; and on 
these they wrote with a sharp-pointed instrument 
called a stylus. The other end of the stylus was blunt, 
so that when a pupil made a mistake in his writing, he 
could smooth it out in the soft wax with this end, and 
then try again. 

Here the children also learned arithmetic. Perhaps 
you think that the arithmetic which you have to learn 
is hard; but think how much harder it must have 
been for the Roman boys. They did not have the 
plain and easy figures which you use, but had only 
what we still call the "Roman numerals." If you want 
to see how much harder it is to use these, try to find 
the answer to 

XXIV times LXXXVII, 
and then see how much easier it is when it is written 

24 times 87. 

Because their arithmetic was so hard, each Roman 
boy carried with him to school a counting-frame to 
help him. This was a wooden frame divided into lines 
and columns, and he did his sums with it by putting 
little pebbles in the different columns to represent the 
different denominations. 

After Cicero had passed out of this school, he went 
to w T hat was called a grammar school. There he 
studied Greek grammar, and read some of the famous 
books of that day, both Greek and Latin. Of course 
these were not printed books, for printing was not 
invented till fifteen hundred years after this. The 
books of that time were all written with a pen, on 



180 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

smooth white skins called parchment, or on paper 
made from the papyrus plant which grows in Egypt; 
and instead of being- bound as our books are, the pages 
of these books were all pasted into one long strip, side 
by side, and then rolled tightly around a stick. 

In this school young Cicero studied until he was 
fifteen years old. When a Roman boy became fifteen 
or sixteen years old, a great change usually came in 
his life. Up to that time he wore the "boyish toga," 
with its narrow purple border, and carried a "bulla" or 
charm about his neck to ward off the evil eye. After 
he passed that age, he put off the boyish toga and the 
bulla, and put on for the first time a toga all of white, 
such as the men wore. This, too, was made a day of 
festival, and after the change was made, the young 
man went with his father and his friends into the 
Forum, and there his name was written in the list of 
Roman citizens. After this he might be called upon 
to serve in war, and he had the right to vote and to do 
anything that the grown men were allowed to do. 
This was the change which came to Marcus Cicero 
when he was fifteen ; and you can imagine how proud 
he felt as he went with his father from the Forum to 
the temples on the Capitol to offer sacrifices to the gods 
in honor of the day. 

All Roman boys of good families followed the course 
of training which you have been reading about, up to 
the time when they put on the manly toga. After 
that, if they intended to train themselves for war, they 
entered the camp of some general and attached them- 
selves to him ; but if they intended to train themselves 
for the law, and become speakers, they attended the 



CICERO, THE OR A TOR. 1 8 1 

law courts m the Forum. Cicero's father wished him 
to be trained for the law, so he put the lad in charge 
of one of the great judges and lawyers of that time. 
In his company and under his direction, Cicero 
attended the law courts day after day, and listened to 
the best speakers, and took notes on all that he saw 
and heard. In this way he came, in the course of 
time, to know the laws of his country and the ways 
in which the courts did business; and by constant 
attention and practice, he also came to be a good 
speaker. 

After a number of years spent in this way, Cicero at 
last had a chance to show the Roman people what 
good use he had made of his time in the law courts. 
During the terrible civil war between Marius and 
Sulla, a young Roman was charged most unjustly with 
the murder of his father, but all the lawyers of Rome 
were afraid to defend him, for it was known that who- 
ever did so might anger Sulla, who was then ruling 
Rome, and so bring a sentence of death on himself. 
Cicero, however, was willing to risk the danger. He 
defended the young man before the court, and the 
cause was so good, and Cicero spoke so well and fear- 
lessly in his defense, that the young man was at once 
released. This gave Cicero a good deal of fame at 
Rome ; but he did not dare to remain there after that, 
for fear of the wrath of Sulla. So he went to Greece, 
and there he passed his time in studying under Greek 
masters, and learning how to speak and to write still 
better. 

At last news came that Sulla was dead, and Cicero 
returned to Rome. Then he entered politics; and 



1 82 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

though the nobles looked upon him with scorn because 
he was a man of low birth — that is, because none of 
his family had ever held the office of consul at Rome 
— Cicero was such a good speaker, and so learned in 
the laws, and so honest, that he was elected to one 
office after another at the ver) T lowest age that he could 
hold them. 

Though he now held public offices, Cicero did not 
cease to come before the law courts whenever there 
was need. At one time a man named Verres was 
charged with greatly abusing the people of Sicily and 
unlawfully taking great sums of money from them 
while he was governor in that island. This had 
come to be a very common thing; indeed, people would 
often say that a Roman governor had to make three 
fortunes out of his province during the time that he 
was in office : one to pay off the debts he had made to 
get the office, another to bribe the judges at Rome in 
case they should try to punish him for his dishonestv, 
and a third to live on after he returned to Rome. So, 
although Verres was much worse than governors 
usually were, few people expected to see him punished. 
But Cicero took hold of the case, and he managed it so 
skilfully that in spite of all Verres could do he was 
forced to leave Rome and go into exile. This won for 
Cicero the praise of all honest citizens, but it is believed 
that it did not make the Roman governors very much 
better. 

When Cicero had held all of the offices below that of 
consul, it happened that a plot was made at Rome 
which nearly overturned the government, and to pre- 
vent this from succeeding, Cicero was elected consul. 



CICERO, THE ORATOR. 



183 



The common people and the nobles had by this time 
again begun their quarrels, which had been stopped 
during the time of Sulla's stern rule. A ruined noble, 
named Catiline, now put himself forward as the leader 
of the common people, and with their support he tried 
to gain the consulship. But all good men distrusted 
him, because of the crimes which were charged against 
him and because it was known that he was deeply in 




CICERO. 



debt and ready to do anything to get money. So the 
moderate men among both the common people and 
the nobles united in supporting Cicero for consul 
against Catiline, and Cicero was elected. 

Then Catiline determined to secure by force what 
he could not get by the vote of the people. He got 
together a number of ruined nobles like himself, and 
planned to murder the consuls and then seize the city 
and burn and rob as they chose. 



1 84 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

Cicero got news of these plans ; but he did not dare 
to arrest Catiline, for he had powerful friends and 
Cicero did not yet have clear proof of the plot. He 
decided to try to anger and frighten Catiline so that he 
would openly show his plans and all people would be 
convinced of them. Accordingly, Cicero got up in the 
Senate, while Catiline was there, and made a powerful 
speech against him. 

"How long, Catiline," he cried, "will you abuse our 
patience? When will this boldness of yours come to 
an end? Do not the guards which are placed each 
night on the Palatine hill alarm you? Do not the 
watchmen posted throughout the city, does not the 
alarm of the people and the union of all good men, do 
not the looks and expressions of the Senators here, 
have any effect upon you? Do you not feel that your 
plans are known? What did you do last night or the 
night before that you think is still unknown to us? or 
where did you meet, and who were there, and what 
plans did you adopt, that we do not know?" 

Then Cicero went on to tell all the plans of Catiline, 
and showed him that so much was known of them that 
Catiline, in fright and rage, got up and left the temple 
in which the Senate was at that time meeting, and rode 
hastily away from the city to join some soldiers that he 
had raised. Then every one was sure that what Cicero 
had said about Catiline was true. An army was sent 
against the troops of Catiline, and they were easily 
overcome and Catiline was slain; and his followers in 
the city were arrested and put to death. 

For Cicero's wise government of Rome at this time 
men of both parties honored him, and he was publicly 



CICERO, THE ORATOR. 185 

called "the father of his country. " But it was not long 
before the influence which he had gained in this way 
was greatly weakened. 

Rome had grown, as you have seen, from a little 
city-state, to be a great empire; but the form of the 
government was still the same that it had been in 
the old days. This was bad, for a great empire cannot 
be ruled in the same way that a single city can. It 
was not only unjust, but it was unwise to let a few 
thousand greedy, selfish men at Rome choose the 
officers and make the laws that were to rule all the 
millions of people that were governed by Rome. But 
nobody knew the true way to remedy the trouble, for 
nobody had then thought of what we call "representa- 
tive government," — that is, a government in which the 
people of each city or district elect men to represent 
them at the capital of the country, and make laws for 
the whole land. The Romans knew only two ways of 
governing a great empire : one was to let the people 
of the chief city rule over all the rest as Rome was 
doing; the other was to give up free government 
altogether, and let a king or despot rule over the whole 
according to his will. 

Many people thought that the government by the 
Senate and people of Rome could still be kept up. 
Cicero was one of these, and he tried to build up a 
party in support of this idea. But the task was too 
great. The Senators were selfish and short-sighted; 
the rich men were greedy and corrupt; and the com- 
mon people were ready to support any one who would 
only give them bread to eat and amuse them with cir- 
cus races and wild-beast fights. Besides this, several 



i86 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



powerful men had now arisen, each of whom was try- 
ing to make himself master of Rome. 

So Cicero failed in his task. First he was exiled from 
Rome, on a charge of unlawfully punishing some of 
the followers of Catiline. Then, after he had been 
allowed to return to Rome, civil war broke out between 




CIRCUS MAXIM TS. 



the different men who were trying to get the chief 
power; and the wars continued until at last the Repub- 
lic came to an end, and Julius Caesar — whose story you 
will read in the next two chapters — gathered up all the 
offices of the government in his own hands, and made 
himself sole ruler of the whole Roman empire. 



CICERO, THE OR A TOR. 1 8 7 

In this time of terrible civil war, Cicero could have 
no place, for he was a peaceful man who tried to rule 
men by persuading them, instead of commanding them 
by force. And after the old government had been 
overthrown, he no longer took an interest in politics. 
After that, he spent his time in studying and writing; 
and the books which he wrote at this time may still be 
read by those who understand the Latin language, — 
indeed, it is not too much to say, that they have done 
more to make the name of Cicero famous than any- 
thing else that he ever did. 

But before many years had passed in this way, Caesar 
was slain by some of his enemies, and new struggles 
began for the mastery of the Roman world. Cicero 
now thought that perhaps the government by the 
Senate and people might be restored, and he spoke 
and wrote in order to bring this about. But it was 
in vain. The attempt to restore the old govern- 
ment failed, and Cicero lost his own life by it. His 
writings had angered some of the great men of Rome, 
and at last they ordered that he should be put to 
death. 

The soldiers who were sent to carry out the order 
found Cicero at his pleasant country home by the sea. 
His faithful slaves wished to defend him against the 
soldiers, but Cicero knew that this could not save him ; 
so he commanded them not to resist the soldiers, and 
then calmly submitted to his fate. 

Long after this, one of the men who had given the 
order for Cicero's death, found his nephew with a book 
in his hand, which the boy tried to hide under his 
gown. He took the book from the boy's hand, and 



1 88 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

then saw that it was one of Cicero's works. For a long 
time he stood and read in the book ; then, as he gave 
it back to him, he cried : 

"My child, this was a learned man, and one who 
loved his country well." 



JULIUS CAESAR, THE CONQUEROR OF GAUL. 189 



XXIV 

Julius Caesar, the Conqueror of Gaul. 




CAIUS JULIUS CAESAR belonged to a noble 
family, but he was a nephew of Marius by 
marriage, and it was this perhaps that caused him first 
to act with the party of the people. 



19° THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

He was little more than a boy when the parties of 
Sulla and Marius were carrying- on their terrible strug- 
gles for the mastery, and he had taken no part in these 
troubles. But when Sulla had overcome the party of 
Marius, and was putting to death all persons whom 
he regarded as the enemies of his own party, he wished 
to include young Caesar in the number. The Vestal 
Virgins, however, and some of Sulla's firmest friends, 
went to him and begged that Caesar's life might be 
spared, because of his youth and his noble birth. For 
a long time they pleaded in vain, but at last Sulla gave 
way. 

"Let him be spared, then, as you wish," he said; 
"but I would have you know that there is many a 
Marius in this young man, for whose safety you are so 
anxious; and you will find, some day, that he will be 
the ruin of the party of the nobles to which you and I 
all belong. ' ' 

After this narrow escape Caesar did not dare to stay 
longer at Rome. He went to the lands about the 
eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, and joined the 
camp of a Roman general who was carrying on one of 
the wars, which the Romans were now waging nearly 
all the time in that region. Here Caesar got his first 
training in war; and one day he showed such brave ry 
in saving the life of a fellow soldier, that the general in 
command of the army presented him with a crown of 
oak leaves. This, as you will remember from the story 
of Coriolanus, was a great mark of honor among the 
Romans. 

After Sulla was dead, Caesar returned to Rome; but 
he did not remain there long. He decided that he 



JULIUS CsESAR, THE CONQUEROR OF GAUL. 191 

wanted to be an orator as well as a soldier, so he went 
to Greece, as Cicero had done, to study the art of writ- 
ing and speaking. 

While Caesar was on his way to Greece, he had an 
adventure which shows very well the sort of man that 
he was. The ship that he was on was captured by 
pirates, and Caesar was told by them that he must pay 
a large sum of money before they would let him go. 
He at once sent his servants to raise this sum, but in 
the meantime he had to stay with the pirates at their 
island home. 

They were desperate men, who considered the crime 
of murder a trifling act ; but Caesar seemed to have no 
fear of them, and even showed his contempt for them 
quite freely. When he wished to sleep, he would order 
them to be silent while he did so ; at other times he 
would join in their rough play and exercise. To help 
pass away the time till his servants should return, he 
wrote poems and speeches, and spoke them to these 
ignorant men ; and when they did not show pleasure in 
what he recited he frankly called them "dunces" and 
"barbarians." They took all this from Caesar with 
great good-humor, for they liked his fearless spirit; 
and when he threatened to punish them, as soon as he 
was free, for their piracy and crimes, they laughed and 
thought this a great joke. 

When his money had come, however, and he was set 
free, the first thing that Caesar did was to carry out this 
threat. He gathered together some ships and men, 
and returned to the island where the pirates stayed. 
He found their vessels still at anchor there, and in the 
battle which* followed, he not only defeated and cap- 



I9 2 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

tured most of the men, but also recovered the money 
which he had paid them as a ransom. 

At Rome, Caesar led the same sort of life that other 
wealthy young Romans did at that time. He joined 
in the gayety of the city, and seemed to think of noth- 
ing but that. He was very careful in his dress, and 
was one of the leaders of the fashion at Rome. This 
seemed foolish to the grave Cicero, and he once spoke 
doubtfully of Caesar, wondering if there could really 
be any earnest purpose in a man who gave so much 
thought to the arrangement of his hair. 

But this was only the outside view of Caesar. He 
had already set his heart on doing something great, so 
as to make his name remembered; and he never forgot 
this purpose. At the very time that Cicero thought 
him so foolish and careless, Caesar was preparing him- 
self to win the favor of the people and become their 
leader. When he began to speak in public, he had 
taken so much pains to train himself well, that he 
pleased his hearers from the first ; and after his return 
from Greece, he was looked upon as one of the best 
orators of Rome. He was friendly and pleasant to 
every one, and gave money freely to all who asked for 
it. In this way he won the favor of the people, and 
soon he was elected to several offices, one after the 
other. 

While Caesar held one of these offices, it was his duty 
to oversee the public games. The Romans, as you 
know, had now become very fond of such shows, and 
they were given a number of times each year. There 
were many kinds of these games. Some of them were 
like the Greek games, and were contests in running, 



JULIUS C&SAR, THE CONQUEROR OF GAUL. 193 

wrestling, leaping, and hurling the spear. Others 
were sham battles, in which little armies of horsemen, 
infantry, and elephants took part. But the kinds that 
the Romans liked best were three, — the chariot races, 
the fights with wild beasts, and the contests of 
gladiators. 

The chariot races were held in a race course called 
the Great Circus, which lay between the Palatine hill 
and the hill which stood south of it. Each chariot was 
usually drawn by four horses, and four chariots took 
part in each race. The driver of each chariot wore a 
different colored gown, — one white, one red, one blue, 
and one green; and the people took such interest in 
these races, that they divided into parties over them. 
In this way there arose a party of the Greens, who 
always favored the driver who wore that color, and a 
party of the Blues, who favored the one in blue, and so 
on ; and sometimes the people became so excited by the 
races that the different parties actually came to blows 
about them. 

The chariot races were very old, — indeed, it was said 
that Romulus first started them; but the wild-beast 
fights were not introduced until after the second war 
with Carthage. Then the Romans began to turn loose 
elephants, lions, leopards, and other beasts, in the 
"arena" of the Circus (as the central part of it was 
called), and set men to hunt them for the amusement 
of the spectators. In this way four hundred lions were 
once turned loose at the same time. 

But the shows which the people liked best of all were 
the fights of the gladiators. The gladiators were men 
who were trained to fight to amuse the Romans ; and 



JULIUS CsESAR, THE CONQUEROR OF GAUL. 195 

they were usually captives who had been taken in war, 
or slaves who had been sold to the trainers of gladiators 
as a punishment. Most often they fought together in 
single pairs. Sometimes they were both armed in the 
same way, with helmet, shield, and sword. Some- 
times, however, one only would be armed in this way, 
and the other would have nothing but a three-pointed 
spear with which to thrust at his enemy, and a net to 
throw over his head and entangle him. When one of 
the gladiators became wounded, the fight stopped until 
the will of the people 
had been made 
known. If they held 
their thumbs up, he 
was spared; but if 
they turned their 
thumbs so that they 
pointed downward, 
he was at once put 
to death. 

The government 
was supposed to fur- gladiator fight. 

nish the money to provide for these games, but the 
custom had arisen for the overseers of the games to add 
to them at their own expense. So when Caesar was 
overseer he determined to furnish finer games than 
had ever been seen before. In this he succeeded. 
Everybody said that there had never been more or 
better gladiator fights or finer wild-beast hunts than 
those he furnished. The statues and pictures, too, 
which he provided to decorate the Forum and the 
temples on the Capitol, during the time that the games 




19 6 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

were being held, were so numerous that places had to 
be found elsewhere to exhibit many of them. 

Caesar spent such large sums of his own money on 
these shows that he came out of the office very heavily 
in debt; but he had succeeded in his purpose. He 
had made the people think him generous and public- 
spirited; so when he became a candidate for the con- 
sulship some time after this, they gladly supported 
him. The nobles, however, did not like Caesar so well, 
and they opposed his election, for they were already 
beginning to fear his power over the people. But at 
this time there was a powerful man at Rome who could 
help Caesar very much with his election, if he would, 
and he needed Caesar's help as much as Caesar needed 
his. 

This man was named Pompey, and he was called 
"the Great" because of his deeds in war. At one time 
he had put down a dangerous rebellion in Spain. After 
that he had helped to put down a rebellion of gladia- 
tors, who had fled in large numbers to Mount Vesuvius 
in Italy, and formed a strong camp there. Then, some 
time after Caesar's adventure with the pirates, Pompey 
had been given a great fleet and had been commissioned 
to make war on the pirates. With this fleet he had 
started in at the Straits of Gibraltar, and searched 
every nook and corner of the Mediterranean Sea, and 
swept all the pirates before him till he reached the 
coast of Asia; there he defeated them in one 
great battle, and so cleared the seas of pirates for many 
years. After that, Pompey had been given the com- 
mand in a war w.ith a king who ruled on the southern 
shore of the Black Sea; and in this war also he had 



JULIUS C&SAR, THE CONQUEROR OF GAUL. 197 

been successful. So at last Pompey had come back to 
Rome with much honor, and was given a great tri- 
umph by the people ; but the nobles looked upon him 
with suspicion, and refused to reward his soldiers, and 
to approve the arrangements which he had made for 
the conquered country in the East. 

This vexed Pompey very much ; so he joined with 
Caesar, and they agreed to help each other in gaining 
what they each wanted. In this way Pompey got 
lands for his soldiers and had his acts in the East 
approved; and Caesar got his election as consul. After 
his year as consul was up, and it was time for him to 
go as governor to one of the provinces, as was the 
custom, Caesar was appointed governor of Gaul for five 
years. And before that time was up, by a new agree- 
ment between the two men, Caesar was given another 
term of five years as governor of Gaul, while Pompey 
was appointed to govern Spain for an equal time. 

The Senators were not sorry to see Caesar go to Gaul, 
for they hoped that daring his long absence from the 
city, the fickle people of Rome might forget him, and 
so leave him without influence when he returned ; or, 
if this should not happen, they hoped at any rate that 
something might occur in the meantime to make his 
influence less dangerous to the party of the nobles. 

At this time there were two districts which the 
Romans called by the name of Gaul, and Caesar was 
given command over both of these. One was on the 
Italian side of the Alps, and included the lands in the 
valley of the River Po, on which those Gauls had lived 
who welcomed Hannibal when he came into Italy. 
This was called "Cis- Alpine Gaul," or "Gaul on this 



198 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

side of the Alps." The other lay on the other side of 
the Alps, in what is now southern France, and this 
was called "Trans- Alpine Gaul." 

Cis-Alpine Gaul had been conquered for some time, 
but in Trans- Alpine Gaul the power of the Romans did 
not extend beyond a little strip of land in the southern 
part, where the country touches the Mediterranean 
Sea. Moreover, the affairs of Gaul beyond the Alps 
had been neglected by the Romans during the strug- 
gles that had taken place at Rome, and when Caesar 
reached his provinces he found that troubles were 
beginning there which needed his immediate attention. 

Caesar learned that a large body of people who lived 
in the valleys of the Alps, had determined to leave 
their homes among the mountains, and search out new 
ones in the western part of Gaul. They had burned 
their towns and villages, so that their people could 
have no wish to return to their old homes, and they 
were now ready to start on their journey through the 
Roman province, carding their families and their 
goods with them. 

The march of so large a body of the Swiss through 
Trans- Alpine Gaul might mean the beginning of much 
trouble for the Romans ; so Caesar determined that they 
must be stopped before they had gone any farther 
from their homes. He crossed the Alps in haste, 
therefore, and sent word to the Swiss forbidding them 
to march through his province. Then, when they tried 
in spite of this to force their way out of the mountains, 
he defeated them in a terrible battle ; and sent them 
back to their own country, to rebuild their burned 
homes and settle upon their own lands once more. 



JULIUS CjESAR, THE CONQUEROR OF GAUL. 199 

This great victory gave Caesar's soldiers confidence 
in their new commander ; and it also caused many of 
the neighboring tribes of Gaul to submit to him, and 
become friends to the Roman people. 

Soon after this the chiefs of one of these tribes 
appealed to Caesar for aid in a trouble of their own; 
and begged him to help them against a tribe of Ger- 
mans, who had lately crossed the Rhine, and come into 
Gaul. These Germans had already conquered a part 
of the country, and were inviting other German tribes 
to cross the river and join them in overrunning the 
whole of Gaul. This would have been more dangerous 
even than to have had the Swiss passing through the 
country in search of new homes ; so Caesar determined 
to give the help that was asked of him, and send the 
Germans also back to their own lands. 

But while Caesar was preparing to march against the 
Germans, his army began to give him trouble. The 
Gauls and the Roman traders who passed through the 
camp, told marvelous tales of the great size of the 
Germans, and of the fierceness of their appearance, 
and of their skill with their weapons. When Caesar's 
soldiers heard these stories, and when it was whispered 
among them that they were about to march against the 
Germans, they began to fear this people as much as 
Marius's soldiers had done before them. Some of the 
young officers, who had had little experience in war, 
even began to make excuses to be allowed to return to 
Rome; others, who were ashamed to leave the army 
in this way, made their wills, and went about the camp 
with tears streaming down their faces. These claimed 
that it was not the enemy they feared ; but that they 



200 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

dreaded the narrowness of the roads, and the vastness 
of the forests through which the men would have to 
pass, and they were afraid, too, that there would not 
be food enough for the army on its march. 

When Csesar heard these things, he called a meeting 
of his soldiers and rebuked them. 

"Is it your business," he asked, "to inquire in what 
direction we are to march, and what are the plans of 
your general? Is it your duty to think of the feeding 
of the army, and the condition of the roads? That is 
my affair, and not yours; and you should not distrust 
me so much as to think that I will not attend to it. I 
suspect, indeed, that it is the enemy that you dread, 
and not the dangers of the march. But even though 
you know that you are to fight against the Germans, 
what is it that you fear in them? They have already 
been defeated by Marius within the memory of our 
fathers. The Swiss, whom you have so lately sent 
back to their homes, have defeated them in their own 
country. Shall we not be able to do what they have 
succeeded in doing? I had intended to put off this 
march of ours to a more distant day; but now I have 
determined to break up our camp during this very 
night, so that I may find out as soon as possible 
whether my soldiers will answer to the call of duty, or 
give way to fear. If no others will follow me, I shall 
still go forward with the tenth legion alone ; for I know 
that the men of that legion, at least, are too brave ever 
to desert their commander." 

On hearing these words, the minds of the soldiers 
were suddenly changed. The tenth legion sent mes- 
sengers to him to thank him for his confidence in them; 



JULIUS C^SAR, THE CONQUEROR OF GAUL. 201 

and the soldiers of the other legions made excuses for 
themselves, and begged him to believe that they would 
follow him wherever he might wish to go. Caesar 
accepted their excuses ; but that night, as he had said 
he would, he began the march. And when the army 
came up with the Germans, and a battle was fought, 
Caesar easily defeated the enemy and drove them back 
across the Rhine into their own country. 

These two wars were the beginning of Caesar's com- 
mand in Gaul. In a few months, he had succeeded in 
saving the country from being overrun by the Swiss 
and by the Germans ; and perhaps he had even kept 
the barbarians from entering Italy again as in the time 
of Marius. He remained governor of Gaul for nine 
years in all, and during that time he conquered all the 
country from the Rhine west to the Atlantic Ocean, 
and from the Roman province in the south to the Eng- 
lish Channel on the north. He did even more than 
this. Twice when he wished to overawe the restless 
tribes of Germany, he quickly built a bridge over the 
wide and rapid stream of the Rhine, and led his army 
over to frighten the neighboring tribes into submis- 
sion; and twice, also, he gathered ships and crossed 
over into the neighboring island of Great Britain, to 
make war upon the tribes that lived there and punish 
them for having interfered in the affairs of Gaul. 

Caesar was the first Roman general to lead an army 
into either Germany or Britain ; and although he made 
no serious attempt to subdue these countries himself, 
he prepared the way for the conquest of Britain, at 
least, in the time that was to come. In Gaul, how- 
ever, he completely conquered the country. When he 



202 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

left that land its people had already settled down 
quietly under the Roman rule, and they were begin- 
ning- to learn the Roman customs and the Roman lan- 
guage. So thoroughly did they learn these that they 
became almost like the Romans themselves, and even 
to-day the language that is spoken in that land — the 
French language — is merely a form of the old Latin 
tongue, which their Roman conquerors spoke nearly 
two thousand years ago. 

One of the things that helped Caesar most in this 
great work of conquest, was his power over the com- 
mon soldiers. During all the years that they fought 
under him in Gaul, they never once repeated the 
threat of disobedience, which they had made when he 
first proposed to lead them against the Germans. 
From that time on they were entirely devoted to him, 
for they had confidence in him. He was willing to 
share every danger and hardship with his soldiers, and 
when he made a speech to them he called them "Fellow 
soldiers," to show that he was one of them. In the 
marches with his army, he used to go at the head of 
his troops, sometimes on horseback, but oftener on 
foot, with his head bare in all kinds of weather. At 
the beginning of a battle, he often sent his horse away, 
so that he might lead his men on foot. If they began 
to give way during the fight he would go among them 
and stop those that were flying, and turn them towards 
the enemy again ; and so by courage and determination 
he would change defeat into victory. 

Caesar was both mild and strict in his control of his 
men. After they had won the victory he would allow 
them to rest and make merry ; but before the battle 



JULIUS CJESAR, THE CONQUEROR OF GAUL. 203 

had been fought and the victory decided, he demanded 
unceasing watchfulness and entire obedience. He 
would give no notice of battle till the last moment, in 
order that the soldiers might always hold themselves 
in readiness for it-; and, for the same reason, he would 
often lead his men out of their camp, when there was 
no need of it, even in rainy weather and on holidays. 
Sometimes, either by day or night, he would suddenly 
give them orders to follow without losing sight of him ; 
and then lead them on long marches in order to test 
their strength, and to prepare them for doing the same 
thing whenever there might be real necessity for it. 
In this way, long before Caesar's nine years in Gaul 
were over, he had an army of veterans, every man of 
whom was willing to follow him into any danger. 

While Caesar was still in Gaul, he wrote the account 
of his struggles with the barbarians, and sent it to 
Rome, so that the people might know of the successes 
of his army. Many of the Roman books have been 
lost, but this account of Caesar's wars in Gaul is so 
well written and so interesting that it was carefully 
saved, and if you should ever study Latin, this will be 
almost the first book that you will read. 



2 04 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS.. 



XXV 

Caesar and the Beginning of the Empire. 

DURING the years of Caesar's life in Gaul, the mis- 
government of Rome had steadily been growing 
worse. The elections for consuls could not be held 
without disorder, and the candidates for office went 
about with bands of armed men for their protection. 
Sometimes these bands actually fought at the voting 
places; and once^ the election of consuls was pre- 
vented, by these quarrels, for six months after the 
proper time. Thus the Romans were not only failing 
to rule their provinces justly, — as you have seen was 
so in the case of Verres in Sicily, — but the city itself 
was now filled with confusion and violence; and many 
wise and thoughtful men became willing to end the 
disorder in any way that was possible. 

At this time, Cicero was trying to cure the evils of 
the government by urging the people of Rome to be 
as unselfish and virtuous as their forefathers had 
been. His efforts failed, for the people were not will- 
ing to believe that their greed and selfishness were 
ruining their country; and, perhaps, if they had 
believed it. they could not have changed themselves in 
order to make their government better. They had no 
idea of reforming the government by giving it the 
representative form such as we have now; so the only 
cure that remained was for the government by the 



C&SAR AND THE BEGINNING OF THE EMPIRE. 205 

Senate to give way to that of one strong man, who 
could put down disorder and punish misgovernment. 

But where was the strong man to be found who 
could, and would, force the Senate to step aside and let 
him carry on the government? To do this, it was 
necessary that he should have an army, for the Senate 
would certainly not give up its power without a strug- 
gle. Now there were only two men at this time who 
had armies which they could use in this way. One of 
them was Pompey, the conqueror of the pirates and 
the East ; the other was Caesar, the conqueror of Gaul. 

Pompey might long ago have overturned the govern- 
ment of the Senate, if he had really wanted to do so. 
But though he could win battles, he did not know much 
about government, and could not make up his mind 
what he wanted to do. Caesar, on the other hand, was 
as good at politics as he was at war. He had long seen 
that the old government was so bad that it could only 
be cured by setting up another in its place ; and he 
was quite ready to try to do this himself, if the chance 
should come to him. 

For a while Caesar and Pompey had acted together, 
and had helped each other in politics. But when news 
came to Pompey at Rome of the splendid victories 
which Caesar was winning in Gaul, he began to be 
jealous of him, and at last he was ready to join with 
the party of the nobles in any plan that would destroy 
Caesar's power. 

As you will remember, it had been agreed that Caesar 
was to have his command in Gaul for ten years. 
When that time should be up, he had arranged that he 
should be elected consul again. That would give him 



206 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

an army as consul, just as soon as he laid down the 
command of his army in Gaul; and when his year as 
consul was up, he would go to one of the provinces as 
the head of another army for a long term of years. In 
this way there would be no time when Caesar would 
not have an army at his command ; and so the nobles 
would not be able to injure him, or put him to death, 
as they had put Tiberius and Caius Gracchus to death. 

The plan which the nobles and Pompey formed, to 
get rid of Caesar, was this. They would make him 
give up his government in Gaul before his last five 
years were over; then, perhaps, when Caesar had no 
army to protect him against injustice, they would 
bring him to trial before the courts at Rome on some 
charge — any charge would do — and have him convicted. 
In this way they would get rid of him, and the selfish 
government of the Senate could go on as before. 

To carry out this plan, the Senate ordered Caesar to 
give up his governorship, and return to Rome. Caesar 
knew that he could not trust himself there without an 
army to protect him; still, he made an offer to the 
Senate to give up his command, if Pompey, who was 
then at Rome with an army near by, would give up his 
command also. The Senate replied that Caesar must 
give up his army, or become a traitor to his country ; 
and that Pompey need not give up his. 

Caesar now saw that his enemies were planning to 
destroy him ; but to resist them meant the beginning 
of a civil war between himself and Pompey. Neverthe- 
less, he prepared to lead his victorious army across the 
little river Rubicon, which separated C is- Alpine Gaul 
from Italy, and march south to attack his enemies. 



CsESAR AND THE BEGINNING OF THE EMPIRE. 207 



The old stories say that after Caesar had drawn up 
his men on the banks of the river he stood for some 
time in deep thought, questioning whether it was the 
wisest thing, after all, for him to go in arms against 
the government of his country. While he stood in 
doubt, a wandering minstrel near by suddenly seized a 
trumpet from one of the soldiers and sounded the call 
to advance. Caesar took this as a sign from the gods, 
and exclaimed: 

"Let us go whither the gods and the wickedness of 
our enemies call us. 
The die is now cast. ' ' 



Then he led his 
veteran soldiers 
across the Rubicon 
and marched south 
to meet the army of 
Pompey. 

Pompey mean- 
while had made al- 
most no preparations ROMAN SOLDIERS, 
for the war. When some one had asked him what he 
would do if Caesar should march into Italy, Pompey 
had replied : 

"I have but to stamp my foot, and soldiers will 
spring up all over Italy to fill the legions of my army. " 

But after Caesar had crossed the Rubicon, news was 
soon brought to Rome that the Italian towns were 
yielding to him without a struggle ; and when one of 
the Senators taunted Pompey with his vain boast, and 
asked him why he did not stamp his foot, the latter 
could find no answer. It was too late now to raise 




208 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

men to save Rome ; so Pompey had to leave the city to 
its fate. He retreated with his army to the south of 
Italy; but Caesar promptly followed him. Then, 
rather than to fight in Italy, Pompey crossed over into 
Greece ; for his influence was strongest there and in 
the East, where his greatest victories had been won. 
Caesar could now follow him no further, for some time 
for want of ships to carry his men across the sea. 

Caesar, accordingly, now turned back to Rome, 
having driven his. enemies from Italy in sixty days, 
without the shedding of a drop of blood. At Rome he 
treated the people mildly and generously, and the men 
who had feared that the terrible times of Sulla and 
Marius had come again, soon saw that they were mis- 
taken. Caesar punished no one, and he took the prop- 
erty of none. He remained in the city only a short 
time, and then, although Pompey himself had gone to 
the East, Caesar set out for Spain, where the greatest 
part of Pompey 's army had been left. 

"I go," he said, "to attack an army without a 
general ; I shall return to attack a general without an 
armv." 

J 

After some difficulty, Caesar succeeded in getting 
possession of the Roman provinces in Spain. He now 
had Gaul, Italy and Spain under his control, and he 
could turn all his efforts against Pompey and the 
forces in the East. 

He now led his army back through Italy by rapid 
marches; and, although it was by this time the 
middle of winter, he immediately crossed into Greece. 
Then, for about four months, the two armies marched 
and countermarched, and built camps and threw up 



CJESAR AND THE BEGINNING OF THE EMPIRE. 209 

earthworks. During- all this time Pompey's army was 
larger than Caesar's; and it was better fed and better 
cared for also, as Pompey's ships could bring him 
everything that he needed, while Caesar's men had to 
live off the country around them. For a long time 
Caesar tried to bring on a battle, but without success; 
for Pompey knew that though he had the larger num- 
ber of men, Caesar had the better soldiers. At last, 
however, Pompey yielded to the urging and flattery of 
his followers, and drew out his men for battle. The 
result was a great victory for Caesar. Although 
Pompey had twice as many men as Caesar had, he was 
defeated and his army was destroyed. 

After this battle, Pompey was forced to fly from 
Greece and seek refuge in Egypt. There he was 
basely murdered by men who wished to please Caesar, 
and thought that this would be the surest way of 
winning his favor. But when Caesar followed Pompey 
to Egypt, and was shown the proofs of his death, he 
did not rejoice, but turned away his face and wept. 
To all the men who had been in Pompey's army, he 
showed himself kind and generous; and he wrote to his 
friends at Rome that "the chief pleasure he had in his 
victory was in saving every day some one of his fellow 
citizens who had borne arms against him." 

After Caesar's victory over Pompey, he established 
his power firmly in Greece, Egypt and Asia, as he had 
already done in the western part of the Mediterranean 
countries. When he returned to Rome, Africa was 
the only portion of the Roman Empire that remained 
unconquered; and all of Caesar's enemies who were left 
had gathered there. For a time Caesar remained at 



210 THE CITY OF THE SEVEX HILLS. 

Rome to attend to public affairs; but as soon as he 
could, he arranged to go to Africa and conquer this 
last army of his enemies. 

But Caesar's soldiers were wearied with marching 
from one end of the world to the other. The tenth 
legion, which had served him so long and well, at last 
rebelled, and the men demanded that they should be 
dismissed with the rewards that were due them for 
their long services. When Caesar heard this, he went 
out to meet them, and said, coldly: 

"Citizens, you shall be dismissed as you desire, and 
you shall have all the rewards which have been 
promised you. " 

"When the soldiers heard their beloved commander 
call them "citizens," instead of "fellow soldiers," as 
always before, their minds were suddenly changed. 
They could not bear the cold disapproval which lay in 
that word. They begged that they might be taken 
back into his service again ; and after that, there was 
no longer any talk of disobedience on their part. 

Caesar was as successful in defeating his enemies in 
Africa as he had been everywhere else, and when he 
returned to Rome, he was able to celebrate four tri- 
umphs, one after the other, for his victories in Gaul, 
in Egypt, in Asia, and in Africa. On the day of his 
triumph over Gaul, he ascended the Capitol at night, 
with twenty elephants carrying torches on his right 
hand, and twenty on his left. When he triumphed 
because of his victories in Asia, an inscription was 
carried before his chariot which read in Latin, "I 
came, I saw, I conquered"; this was copied from 
a message which Caesar had sent to the Senate to 



C^SAR AND THE BEGINNING OF THE EMPIRE. 2 1 1 

announce one of his victories, and it was intended to 
remind the people how quickly he had ended the 
troubles in that region. 

Caesar was now master of Rome and of her empire. 
The Roman army, made up of men of all countries, 
was the strongest power in the state ; and Caesar, who 
controlled the army, was the first man in the empire. 
He could now make whatever reforms in the state he 
thought best. As the Senate and the people had 




CVESAR'S TRIUMPH. 

shown so plainly that they were no longer fit for the 
task of governing the peoples under their rule, he 
decided to carry on the government himself. He 
allowed the Senate and the assemblies of the people 
to meet as before, but he took good care to see that 
they had no real power. He gathered most of the 
offices of the state into his own hands; and, besides 
the titles which went with these offices, he gave him- 



212 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

self the name of "Emperor," or commander, and that 
in time came to be the highest title of all. 

Caesar used his great power well. Instead of treat- 
ing those who had fought against him as Sulla and 
Marias had treated their enemies, he tried to make 
them his friends, and allowed them to hold offices 
under him. There were still some men left who were 
determined to defy him to the last, and these joined 
together in Spain under the sons of Pompey, and 
Caesar was compelled to leave Rome, and lead the 
army against them himself before they were finally 
defeated. But the greater part of the people of Rome 
were satisfied with the rule of Caesar, because it prom- 
ised to give the peace and safety which they had not 
enjoyed for many years. 

Caesar lived for only two years after the four-fold 
triumph which followed his return from Africa. In 
those two years, however, he succeeded in doing much 
good for Rome. He made laws for the reform of the 
courts of justice, and others to enable men who were in 
debt, and could not pay, to settle with their creditors. 
He tried to reform the manners of life of the Romans 
by passing laws against extravagance in dress and in 
banquets. He tried to check the growth of slave 
labor by requiring that one-third of the laborers on 
sheep-farms must be free. He planned new colonics 
to provide for the poor and idle population of Rome; 
and he passed laws to admit many of the subjects 
of Rome to an equality with the citizens of the city 
itself. 

Another of the reforms which he carried out is 
especial interest to us, because the civilized world to- 



C&SAR AND THE BEGINNING OF THE EMPIRE. 213 

day still profits by it. This was the reform of the 
calendar. The Romans divided the year into twelve 
months, as we do; but their months were not long 
enough, so they had an awkward way of putting in an 
extra month about every two years, to make the 
seasons come out right. This plan worked badly, and, 
by the time of Caesar, the calendar and the real year 
of the earth's revolution around the sun, had become 
ninety days apart. As a result of this, the Italian 
farmer began his work in the fields in June and July, 
according to the calendar, when it was really March 
and April. Caesar consulted the most learned men of 
his time, and the calendar was corrected and made to 
agree with the seasons. Then, to keep it right in the 
future, Caesar increased the length of some of the 
months, so that the ordinary year should have three 
hundred and sixty-five days; and he arranged that 
every fourth year, or leap year, an extra day should 
be given to February. The calendar after this worked 
very well, and with one small change we use it to this 
day, with the Roman names for the months and all ; 
and to keep in memory the part which Caesar had in 
this reform, we still call one of the months "July" 
from his name, Julius. 

Besides these various reforms, Caesar planned many 
other important works. He planned to collect a large 
library at Rome, and this was at a time when books 
were very rare and costly. He was beginning a new thea- 
ter, and planning to build a new Senate house, as the 
old one had been burned in the terrible disorders of the 
late wars. A great temple to Mars was to keep the mem- 
ory of his victories fresh in the minds of the people. 



214 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

At the mouth of the Tiber, an immense harbor was to 
be built, and a new road was to lead east through 
the mountains to the Adriatic Sea. And in the midst 
of all this he was preparing to lead armies against the 
barbarians on the Danube, and against those south of 
the Caspian Sea in Asia; for in both these regions the 
peoples were forcing their way out of their own lands 
and seeking to come into the Roman provinces. 

But all these plans were left unfinished or were not 
even begun. Although Rome was now better off than 
it had been at any time for fifty years, there were 
some men among her citizens who still thought that 
there was nothing more shameful than to submit to the 
rule of one man. They longed for the old government 
of the Senate with all its faults. At last sixty of the 
nobles formed a plot to kill Caesar, and so free them- 
selves from his power in the only way that was possible. 
Almost all of these men had received favors from 
Caesar, and one of them, Marcus Brutus, had been 
admitted to close friendship with him. But crafty and 
selfish men persuaded Brutus that it was his duty to his 
country to overthrow Caesar, just as his ancestor had 
overthrown Tarquin long before. So Brutus joined 
the plot and became one of its leaders. 

Caesar was warned of the danger that threatened 
him, but he would have no guards about him. 

"It is better to die once," he said, "than to live 
always in fear of death." 

He had been warned especially to beware of the day 
which the Romans called the "Ides" of March; but on 
that day he went to the Senate house as usual. On 
the way there he saw the priest who had told him to 



C&SAR AND THE BEGINNING OF THE EMPIRE. 215 

beware of the day ; and he laughed at him for a false 
prophet, because the ides of March had come and 
nothing had befallen him. But the priest answered : 

"The day is come, Caesar, but it is not yet gone." 

When Caesar entered the Senate house, all the 
Senators arose to greet him, as was their custom. 
Then the plotters advanced to Caesar's chair, one of 
them pretending to beg a favor of him, while the rest 
appeared to urge Caesar to grant this request. 

Suddenly one of the plotters laid hold of Caesar's toga, 
and dragged it from his shoulders. This was a signal 
for the others, and at once they fell upon Caesar with 
their swords and daggers. For a moment Caesar resisted 
them, but when he saw his friend Brutus striking at 
him among the number, he cried out: 

"Thou, too, Brutus!" 

With this he ceased his struggles; and wrapping his 
head in his toga, he fell, pierced with many wounds, at 
the foot of the statue of Pompey which stood in the 
Senate house. 

Thus died one of the greatest men who ever lived in 
any country or at any time. There have been many 
men in the world who have been great in one way; 
but Caesar was great in many ways. He was a better 
general, perhaps, than any man before or since his 
time; but he was more than this. He was a good 
writer and one of the best orators among the Romans. 
He was a wise ruler, who saw clearly what his coun- 
try needed in many different lines, and who spent 
the short time during which he held the power in 
planning reforms and improvements for her benefit. 
But best of all, he had a generous and fearless spirit, 



216 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

and found it easy to forgive those who had injured 
him, and easier to die than to dread to die. 

He was worthy to become, as he did, the first of a 
long- line of Roman emperors. He has made his 
name, too, a word of honor in the world to this day; 
for when the Germans call their emperor "Kaiser," 
they merely give him Caesar's name ; and when the 
Russians speak of their ruler as the "Czar," they, too, 
are using the name of this great Roman, 



ROME IN THE TIME OF AUGUSTUS. 217 



XXVI 

Rome in the Time of Augustus. 

THE enemies of Caesar were able to put him to 
death, but they could not bring back the Repub- 
lic, which he had overthrown. After Caesar was gone, 
the quarrels and struggles which he had brought to an 
end began once more. Caesar had left no son to suc- 
ceed him, but when his will was opened it was found 
that he had adopted his nephew Octavius as his son, 
and made him his heir. 

Octavius was not yet nineteen years old, but he soon 
showed that he possessed wisdom which was beyond 
his years. He accepted the inheritance and set him- 
self to work to secure his rights under it. After many 
difficulties, he succeeded in doing this. Then he set 
to work to secure the punishment of Caesar's mur- 
derers. This required much time and care, on the 
part of Octavius; but at last they were defeated in 
battle and slain, and thus he succeeded in this also. 
Then he began to plan to secure Caesar's power in the 
empire for himself, as Caesar's successor. This was 
the hardest thing that he had yet attempted, for there 
were other men who were trying to get as much power 
as they could, and Octavius had to struggle against 
them. In the end, however, he succeeded in getting 
what he wanted. All of his rivals were got rid of, 
except one; then, twelve years after the death of 



2i8 THE CITY OF THE SEVEX HILLS. 

Caesar, Octavius won a great battle over this man, and 
became master of the whole Roman world. 

For a hundred years — ever since the time of the 
Gracchi — the party of the people and the party of the 
nobles had been struggling together, but neither one 
could find a cure for the troubles that filled the Roman 
lands. The world was now worn out with these 
struggles. The time had come when both the nobles 
and the people must finally yield to the rule of one 
man, with an army to carry out his commands. In 
this way alone could peace and order and happiness be 
brought to the millions of people who were under the 
Roman rule. Octavius established the rule of the em- 
pire, which Caesar had begun; and he established it so 
firmly that it lasted undisturbed for five hundred years 
after him. From the time that Octavius got the power, 
there was no longer any question as to what form of 
government there should be ; the only question was, 
who should be the one to carry on the government 
under the form of rule that he had set up. 

When Octavius became emperor he took the name 
"Augustus," and it is by that name that we must now 
speak of him. He was a good ruler, and during the 
many years that he governed the empire, the world 
about the Mediterranean was happier than it had ever 
been before. The doors of the temple of Janus, which 
had been shut only three times since Rome was 
founded, were now closed again for long periods; for 
peace — "the Roman peace," as it was proudly called 
— was spread over the world. From Spain to Greece, 
from Gaul to Egypt, there was no longer any war. 
Travelers came and went in safety on the great roads 




AUGUSTUS (\^SAR. 
219 



220 THE CITY OF THE SEVEX HILLS. 

with which the Romans had covered the world; the 
farmers sowed and reaped their fields in peace, and the 
merchants sent out their goods by land and sea and 
had no cause to fear that an enemy might arise to rob 
them of their gains. 

Augustus decided that the empire was now as large 
as it ought ever to become. He fixed the rivers Rhine 
and Danube as the boundaries, on the north, beyond 
which the Romans should not seek to rule; and he 
caused a chain of forts to be built along these rivers 
to defend the Roman lands against the attacks of the 
wild tribes who lived beyond. Nearly all the emperors 
who came after Augustus respected these limits. 
Almost the only land that was added to the empire 
after this time was the island of Britain, — and Julius 
Caesar, you will remember, had already prepared the 
way for its conquest while he was conquering Gaul. 

At Rome, Augustus had many new temples built, 
and many of the old ones, which were falling into 
decay, he caused to be repaired and covered over with 
a facing of marble. Before he died, he could sav, 
in speaking of this work : 

"I found Rome built of brick, but I leave it built of 
marble." 

Augustus was also fond of encouraging and reward- 
ing poets and other writers. Partly because of this 
there were more great literary men at Rome during 
this time than ever before or after; and for this reason 
whenever we wish to describe a period when literature 
flourished and great writers lived and wrote, we still 
call it an "Augustan age." 

Let us now try to look, for a little while, into the life 



R0*\1B IN THE TIME OF AUGUSTUS. 



221 




of the city in this happy time 
while it was under the wise rule 
of Augustus. Of course, we shall 
want to see something of these 
great Roman authors, so we will 
put ourselves for a day in the 
company of one of the wisest and 
wittiest of them all, the poet Ho- 
atius, or ''Horace." We will 
carefully avoid, too, the days of 
the great circus shows and games, 
for we wish to 
see the ordi- 
nary every- 
day life of the 
Romans, and 
not that of 
their festivals. 
The Romans are early risers, so 

we must be up before sunrise, 

and make our way to the modest 

little house of the poet, on the 

hill that lies east of the Forum. 

There we find Horace already 

risen, though usually he is apt 

to rise later than most of the 

Romans. To-day, however, he 

is going to pay a morning visit 

to his friend and neighbor, 

Maecenas, so we find him up and dressed by the time 

that we arrive. 



TOGA — FRONT. 




TOGA — BACK. 



2 2 i THE CITY OF THE SEVEX HILLS. 

After a light breakfast of bread dipped in wine, and 
ripe olives, we set out together. As we pass along the 
narrow streets, we are surprised at the number of 
people that we meet, though the sun is barely up above 
the horizon. Some are slaves and servants, hurrying 
here and there on business of their masters. Others 
are children on their way to school, with slaves 
accompanying them, who carry their tablets and 
satchels. Many, however, are freemen, and are clad 
in the full-dress toga, which none but a free Roman 
citizen may wear. These latter persons bustle along 
with little baskets in their hands and anxious looks 
upon their faces. They are "clients," we are told, or 
dependants of great men, who are hurrying to pay 
their visit of state to their patron at his morning recep- 
tion; and the little baskets are to fetch away the gifts 
of food which each day are set out for them in their 
patron's house. 

As we approach the splendid mansion of Maecenas, 
with its beautiful gardens, we see many of these clients 
going into the house before us ; and as we enter we 
find the outer hall and vestibule full of them. Maece- 
nas is the friend and adviser of Augustus, and his 
influence in the state is very great; as he is also a 
liberal and generous man, the number of clients who 
are dependent on him is quite large. However, we 
are not worried by the number of these visitors, 
though they are pushing and shoving to get ahead of 
one another; for Horace stands on quite a different 
footing with Maecenas from them, and is admitted at 
once to the presence of the master of the house. 

We enter with him, and find ourselves in a large and 



ROME IN THE TIME OF AUGUSTUS. 22^ 

stately hall, richly ornamented with pictures and 
statues. There we find Maecenas receiving the greet- 
ings of the more important of his clients, while he 
advises this one, perhaps, on some point connected 
with a suit at law, and that one how best to invest his 
money. As soon as he sees Horace, however, he 
comes forward with a smile on his face, for he loves 
Horace and honors him as Rome's greatest poet. 

While the two friends talk, we glance about the hall, 
and admire the graceful marble columns which sup- 
port the roof. From time to time we catch bits of the 
conversation between Maecenas and our guide. 

"Nay, Maecenas," Horace is saying, "though no one 
is of a nobler family than yourself, you are not one of 
those who toss up their heads at men of humble birth. 
If you had been such a person, I should have had no 
chance of ever gaining your friendship and aid; for 
my father, as you know, was born a slave, though he 
gained his freedom. I shall never be ashamed of my 
father, however, for though he was a poor man on a 
lean little farm, he guarded me from bad habits and 
gave me an education fit for a Senator's son." 

After some further talk, Horace takes his leave, and 
we return with him to his little home. As we enter 
the house we glance at a sun-dial which stands near- 
by, and see that it is now near the close of the second 
hour, or about eight o'clock. 

In the Forum, the next three hours are the busiest 
of the day. Now the judges are seated on the judg- 
ment benches and listening to the pleas of the orators 
in this and that suit at law; and now the crowd of 
idlers is greatest there. But Horace is not interested 



224 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEX HILLS. 



in such matters; he quietly enters his library, and 
there he remains, reading and writing, until near mid- 
day. Then, a light luncheon of bread, cold meat, fruit 
and wine is served by the slaves; and after that 
comes the mid-day rest and nap, which is still common 

in all warm climates. 
In the afternoon, 
we accompany Hor- 
ace, once more, as he 
leaves the house and 
sets out for the heart 
of the city. As we 
stroll along, we see 
groups of children 
playing in the shadow 
of the houses. Here 
girls are playing what 
looks very much like 
our game of "jack- 
stones," except that 
they use small bones 
to play it with. Near 
by, other girls sit 
with their dolls, sing- 
ing lullabies to them ; 
and elsewhere we find groups of active boys, playing 
with nuts in much the same ways that our boys play 
with marbles. 

As we pass the shops where provisions are sold, 
Horace stops to ask of the slaves, who have the shops 
in charge, the prices of herbs and bread ; and when he 
comes to the booth of a fortune teller, he stands listen- 




HORACE. 



ROME IN THE TIME OF AUGUSTUS. 225 

ing in the crowd for a while, and smiles at the silly folk 
who believe all the nonsense that is told them. When we 
reach the Forum, we find it almost deserted ; only a few 
laggards, like ourselves, are to be seen, and they seem 
to be on their way toward the open ground by the river. 

We follow after them, and soon reach the Field of 
Mars. Here the armies assemble in time of war, and 
here, too, we see the voting places where the elections 
are held each year. But it is nothing of this sort that 
draws the people now. As we look about us, we see 
everywhere men of all ages — young, old and middle- 
aged — engaged in games and exercises of some sort; 
and almost every afternoon, at this time, we could find 
the same sight. Here men are running, leaping, 
wrestling, hurling the spear and quoit. Some are 
practicing feats on horseback; others, armed with 
heavy shields and stout clubs, are aiming heavy blows 
at tall posts; and others still are playing games with 
balls of various kinds and sizes. 

For a while Horace takes part in this latter exercise. 
We join him and throw the ball about until our 
muscles are tired and our bodies heated with the exer- 
cise and the sun. Then, leaving the Field of Mars, we 
go to refresh ourselves at the baths. 

To the Roman, the daily bath was just as important 
as daily exercise; and many fine and costly buildings, 
for this purpose, were erected by wealthy men and 
opened to the people. Some of these came to include 
within them gardens, columned porches, libraries, and 
everything that could give one comfort and amuse- 
ment; and these baths came to be great places of 
resort for the Roman idlers. 



226 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



We will go with Horace, however, to one of the 
smaller and more modest buildings, where baths alone 
are to be found. There, for a very small sum, we 
may have a cold swimming bath, a hot- water bath, or 
a hot-air bath. We make our choice, and after bathing, 
and rubbing our bodies with olive oil, we find ourselves 
much refreshed and the weariness gone from our 

limbs. 

Horace has been in- 
vited to dinner, for this 
evening, to the house 
of an acquaintance, and 
we have permission to 
accompany him there. 
The water-clocks and 
sun-dials tell us that it 
is now nearing the ninth 
hour, — that is, it is 
about three o'clock — so 
we must hasten, as 
Roman dinners begin 
in the middle of the 
afternoon. 
When we reach the house, we are at once shown into 
the dining-room. There we find the little company 
gathered, and among them we recognize Maecenas, 
whose reception we attended in the early morning. 
Standing with him, we see a man of fine features and 
bright eyes, whose face lights up as, now and then, in 
the course of the conversation, he quotes a verse of 
poetry. This is the poet Vergil, the friend of Horace, 
whose great poem, on the fall of Troy, called the 




VERGIL. 



ROME IN THE TIME OF AUGUSTUS. 227 

^Eneid, is still read and enjoyed by scholars the world 
over. 

In the center of the room we see a small table of 
maple wood, and about three sides of this are arranged 
couches or sofas on which the guests are to recline 
during the dinner. When we have taken our places, 
three on a couch, slaves advance and take the sandals 
from off our feet, while others hand around silver 
basins filled with water, for us to wash our hands. For 
a moment we wonder at this, then we notice that there 
are no knives and forks on the table, and learn that we 
are expected to take our food with our fingers; so we 
see at once the reason for it. 

When our hands have been bathed and dried, slaves 
enter with a tray containing the first course of the 
dinner. This is placed on the table in front of us, and 
then we see it consists of a wild boar roasted whole, 
with eggs, and lettuce, radishes, olives, and other 
relishes heaped about it. While we are being helped 
to these dishes, wine mixed with honey is handed about 
in golden goblets. After this course many others 
follow, — roast fowls, fresh oysters, fish with strange 
sauces, blackbirds roasted with their feathers on, pastry 
made in wonderful shapes, fruits and nuts. And yet 
this is not a fine banquet, as Roman banquets go ; for 
whole fortunes, at times, are spent by Romans on one 
entertainment. 

Though we took our places at the table at three 
o'clock, we do not rise from it until near sunset. 
After the hunger of all is satisfied, basins of water are 
again passed, and the hands are cleaned after the 
repast. But the guests still linger about the table, 



228 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

drinking wine weakened with water, playing at games, 
and engaging in conversation. 

As we listen to the talk of the different members of 
the party, our attention is caught by something that 
Horace is saying. He is expressing his preference for 
a life in the country, and saying how much he would 
rather be at his little farm near Rome, which the gener- 
ous Maecenas has given him, than in the bustling city. 

"Happy is the man," he says, "who tills his little 
farm with his own oxen, far away from the noise and 
hurry of the city. He is neither alarmed by the 
trumpet which calls the soldier to arms, nor frightened 
by the storms which cause the merchant to fear for his 
ships at sea. In the spring he trims his .vines, stores 
his honey, and shears his sheep; and when autumn 
comes, he gathers his pears and the purple grape. He 
may lie full length on the matted grass under some old 
tree, and listen to the warbling of the birds in the woods, 
and the waters gliding by in their deep channels. And 
when winter comes, with its rains and snows, he may 
hunt the wild boar with his hounds, or spread nets to 
take thrushes, and snares to catch hares and cranes." 

At last the company breaks up, just as the sun is 
setting beyond the Tiber. Then all betake them- 
selves to their homes. As the Romans are early 
risers, they retire early also. Soon after darkness 
has fallen upon the earth, the greater part of the people 
in this vast city are buried in slumber, while the dark- 
ness of night is broken only here and there by a glimmer 
of light which shows that in some belated household a 
lamp still burns; and so our day in Rome comes to an 
end. 



THE EMPIRE AFTER AUGUSTUS. 229 



XXVII 

The Empire After Augustus. 

WHEN Augustus died, the whole empire mourned 
for him. As time went on, men mourned for 
him more bitterly than ever; for it was long before 
they had another ruler as wise and good as he. 

The step-son of Augustus became emperor after him, 
and he was a cruel tyrant who put men to death upon 
mere suspicion. And the next emperor was half-mad, 
and once threatened to have his horse made consul, 
and at another time raised a great army, and marched 
it hundreds of miles, and then commanded the soldiers 
to gather the shells upon the sea-beach and carry them 
back to Rome. After him came a weak and foolish 
emperor who allowed the cruelest acts to be committed 
in his name, and then forgot them, and' invited the 
persons to dinner whom he had just had put to death. 
And then came an emperor named Nero, who was a 
monster of vanity and cruelty; he was suspected of 
setting fire to the city and allowing more than two- 
thirds of it to burn up, in order that he might rebuild 
it finer than it had been before. 

But even under such rulers, the misgovernment 
scarcely extended beyond the city of Rome itself, and 
the distant provinces were more prosperous and 
happy than they had been during the time when the 
Senate and the people of Rome ruled over them. For 






230 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



a hundred years there was no civil 
war. Then when one did begin, 
after the death of Nero, it lasted 
only a short time, and ended by 
bringing in a set of emperors, 
almost every one of whom was as 
strong and as good as Augustus. 

Before this civil war, all the 
emperors who had ruled had been 
related in some way to the family 
of Julius Caesar; but after it, this 
was no longer the case. The 
emperors now were usually the 
leaders of the armies which 
guarded the different borders of 
the empire. Like the soldiers 
whom they commanded, they were 
often not Romans at all, but had 
been born and raised in some of 
the provinces. They did not care 
so much for the city of Rome and 
the Romans, therefore; and in 
course of time the people of Sicily 
and Spain, and finally of all the 
provinces, were admitted to have 
equal rights in the empire with 
the citizens of Rome itself. 

A new plan was found in this 
period for arranging who should 
be emperor. The emperor who 
was ruling would choose the best 
man he could find, and adopt 



THE EMPIRE AFTER AUGUSTUS. 231 

him as his son ; and this son would then share the rule 
with him while he lived, and would succeed him when 
he died. In this way the empire had a hundred years 
of the best rule that it was ever to know. Indeed, the 
people who dwell about the Mediterranean have never 
seen, before or since, a time of such unbroken 
happiness. 

One of the emperors who made this time famous, 
was named Trajan, and he became so great a favorite, 
that when the Romans wished to pay a compliment to 
their rulers after this, they could only say that they 
were "more fortunate than Augustus and better than 
Trajan." He was a great soldier, and made war upon 
the people who lived beyond the Danube and conquered 
some of their territory; but this was soon given up 
again. To celebrate his victories, Trajan set up in the 
Forum at Rome, a carved marble column, a hundred 
and thirty feet high, with his statue on the top. This 
column still stands at Rome, after eighteen hundred 
years ; and winding around the outside of it may still 
be traced the carvings which picture scenes from his 
wars with the tribes along the Danube. 

The ruler who followed Trajan was named Hadrian. 
He was a man of peace, and a great traveler and 
builder. He visited all the provinces of the empire, 
from far-off Britain to Egypt and the East; and 
wherever he went he caused new temples and theatres 
and other public buildings to be raised, and the old 
ones to be repaired. And in Britain, he built a great 
wall across the island from sea to sea, to protect the 
Roman citizens there against the tribes that lived in 
what is now Scotland. 



232 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



The two emperors who came just after Hadrian were 
different from any that had gone before. They were 
scholars and wise men, and liked the quiet of their 
libraries much better than the noise of armies and 
battles, or the traveling of which Hadrian had been so 
fond. But they both governed with the single purpose 
of making the people under their rule as happy as 
possible; so when it became necessary to make war 

to defend the empire, they did 
not hesitate to give up their 
own desires and march at the 
head of their armies. This be- 
came more and more necessary 
during the reign of Marcus 
Aurelius, the second of these 
two emperors; and finally he 
met his death on the bank of 
the river Danube, fighting 
against the Germans who dwelt 
along that stream. 

With the death of this great 
and good emperor, the "golden 
age" of the empire came to an 
end. From now on the barbarians pressed more closely 
on the empire, and it became more difficult to defend 
it against their attacks. The Romans and the Italians 
had lost the old bravery and skill in fighting, which 
had enabled them to conquer the whole world; while 
the barbarians had learned much about war from their 
long struggles with Rome. Besides this, the govern- 
ment now fell once more into unworthy hands. 
Ignorant soldiers gave the rule to men who were not 




NfARCUS AURELIUS. 



THE EMPIRE AFTER AUGUSTUS. 233 

fit for it ; and once the position of emperor was even 
put up at auction and sold to the highest bidder. 

So a hundred years of war and bloodshed followed. 
This did not cease, until at last a strong ruler named 
Diocletian got the power, and divided the empire into 
an eastern and western half, each with its own ruler, 
so that the people might be better defended from the 
barbarians, and better governed in their own countries. 
Many other changes were made by Diocletian ; then 
when his work was finished, he resigned his power and 
spent the rest of his days in quiet, far from the strug- 
gles of war and politics. 

Soon after Diocletian had resigned his power, a new 
emperor arose who once more united the rule over 
both the eastern and western halves of the empire. 
His name was Constantine, and he is called "the 
Great." He did two things which were very impor- 
tant. In the first place, he was the first emperor to 
become a Christian himself, and to allow the Christians 
to practise their religion openly. In the second place, 
he moved the capital of the Roman empire to the 
shores of the Black Sea, and there built a new city 
which was called from his name, "Constantinople," or 
"the city of Constantine." Some time after the death 
of Constantine the empire was again divided into an 
eastern and a western part ; and this time the division 
was a lasting one. After that there was an empire of 
the East, with its capital at Constantinople; and an 
empire of the West, with its capital at Rome. 

Meanwhile, the barbarians, especially the Germans, 
had been growing more and more troublesome. Great 
hordes of them at last broke through the line of forts 



234 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

along the Rhine and the Danube, and wandered up and 
down the lands of the empire, plundering and destroy- 
ing for many years. Battle after battle was fought 
with them, and sometimes the Germans were the 
victors, and sometimes the Romans were; but the 
armies of the emperors were never again strong enough 
to drive the Germans out of the Roman lands. 

Then the Romans tried to buy off the Germans by 
giving them lands to settle on, and by taking their 
young men into the Roman armies. But the news of 
the success of these bands soon brought others after 
them, all demanding lands within the bounds of the 
empire. And often they would not wait to ask for a 
place to settle, but would seize upon it without asking, 
and the armies of the empire could not prevent it. In 
this way, Spain, and Gaul, and Britain, and even 
northern Italy, passed into the hands of the Germans; 
and in all these lands the Roman rule came to an end 
forever. 

The new city of Constantinople was so well situated 
and so strongly built that the Germans were never 
able to capture it; and the empire there went on for 
a thousand years longer. But the empire of the West 
was not so strong. The city of Rome had been greatly 
weakened when Constantine moved the capital of the 
empire to the Black Sea, and it was not so able to 
stand the attacks of the barbarians. Just eight 
hundred years after it had been taken by the Gauls, 
Rome fell into the hands of the barbarians a second 
time, and was plundered by a wandering tribe of Ger- 
mans. Then sixty-six years later, in the year 476 after 
Christ, one of these German chiefs seized the last 



THE EMPIRE AFTER AUGUSTUS. 235 

Roman emperor in Italy, and took his crown and 
scepter from him ; and the Roman empire of the West 
quietly came to an end. 

You have seen how the Romans spread their rule 
from the little district around Rome, until they had 
gained a vast empire, and now you have seen how that 
empire was lost. The Romans gained their power 
because they were worthy to rule, and they lost it 
because they ceased to be worthy. The rule of Rome, 
which had at first been a blessing to the world, at last 
became an injury to it. When that time came, it was 
easy for the Germanic barbarians to overthrow the old 
government. 

But it is easier to destroy a government than it is to 
build one up. The Germans were at this time a rude 
and unlettered people, and they had never lived in 
cities and were ignorant of many things connected 
with ruling over them. So it was to take them a long 
time to set up strong governments which should rule as 
well as the old Romans had done. In the end, however, 
they succeeded in doing this; and then the modern 
nations of Europe arose out of the ruins of the 
Roman Empire, and united in themselves all that was 
best of the old Roman civilization, with the newer, 
freer and better ideas of the Germans. 



236 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



XXVIII 

The Christians and the Empire. 

DURING the centuries that the Roman power was 
slowly weakening and dying, there was another 
power that was constantly growing stronger. This 
was the power of the Christian religion. It was to 
grow until it had conquered the Romans; then it was 
to conquer the Germans, who overthrew the Roman 
rule. In this way it was to go on, until it had con- 
quered the world in a far wider sense than Rome had 
ever done ; and at last it was to become the mightiest 
power that the world has ever seen. 

Palestine, the land of the Jews, was first conquered 
by Pompey, before his war with Caesar, while he was 
setting the affairs of the East in order. There Christ 
was born during the time that Augustus was emperor, 
and he was put to death in the reign of the emperor 
who succeeded Augustus. Up to that time the teach- 
ings of Christ had not spread beyond that portion of 
the Jews who accepted them. After his death, how- 
ever, the Apostles — especially the Apostle Paul — began 
to spread his teachings among other nations ; and soon 
there were little bands of Christians to be found in 
many of the cities about the Mediterranean Sea. 

Then it began to be a question as to how the Roman 
government would treat this new religion. Usually 
the Romans were very tolerant, and allowed the 



THE CHRISTIANS AND THE EMPIRE. 237 

nations that they conquered to worship whatever gods 
they chose, and even to bring their worship with them 
to Rome. In this way, the Egyptians and Jews and 
other eastern nations had been allowed to build temples 
at Rome and worship their gods there with almost no 
disturbance. 

It was different, however, with the Christians. 
There were many reasons why the Romans would not 
let them worship freely. The Jews were very bitter 
against the Christians, and they informed the Romans 
that the Christians were guilty of many horrible crimes 
in their meetings. These charges were not true, of 
course; but the Romans, and perhaps even the Jews 
themselves, believed them. Then, too, the Christians 
were charged with introducing a new and strange god, 
and with denying that the gods of the empire were 
gods at all. When the Christians would not offer 
sacrifice to the Roman gods — especially when they 
would not worship the statues of the emperors, who 
were now looked upon as gods — they were charged 
with rebellion, and with plotting to overthrow the 
government. And whenever war, or famine, or 
disease, came upon the people, they were ready to 
blame it upon the Christians. 

"The gods are angry with us for sheltering those 
who deny them!" they would cry at such times. "The 
Christians must be put to death! To the lions with 
the Christians!" 

Then all persons who were suspected of being Chris- 
tians would be seized and hurried off to the judges. If 
they admitted that they were Christians, they were 
promptly sentenced to death. If they denied it, they 



238 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

were asked to offer sacrifice to the statue of the 
emperor; and if they would not do this, that was taken 
as a sign that the charge was true, and they, too, 
were declared guilty. 

In this way the prisons would be filled with Chris- 
tians. It made no difference whether they were slaves 
or free, old or young, strong men or delicate women. 
Their fate was the same. When next the people were 
gathered to see the games in the great Circus, the 
Christians would be driven into the arena. Then lions, 
and leopards, and other wild beasts would be turned 
loose upon them, while the cruel Romans shouted and 
cheered from their seats around about. 

The first persecution of the Christians at Rome took 
place while Nero was emperor. A great fire had 
broken out and burned more than two- thirds of the 
city. The Romans believed, — whether rightly or 
wrongly, — that Nero himself had given order to set the 
city on fire, so that he might rebuild it in a more 
splendid style than ever. There were ugly rumors, 
too, that while the waves of flame were sweeping over 
the city, Nero had been seen on a tower watching the 
sight, and unfeelingly singing and playing upon a harp. 

The Roman people were, therefore, very angry with 
Nero, and for a while it looked as though there would 
be a rebellion. To quiet them, Nero had it reported 
that it was the Christians who had started the fire, and 
that while it was burning many of them had been seen 
going about with torches in their hands and setting 
fire to buildings which had not yet caught. 

This changed the people's wrath from their emperor 
to the Christians. The cry arose, "To the lions with 



THE CHRISTIANS AND THE EMPIRE. 239 

the Christians"; and many hundreds of them were 
hurried off to prison without any kind of trial. Nero 
also invented many new and cruel punishments for 
them. Some were covered with the skins of wild 
beasts, and then dogs were set on them. Others were 
wrapped in sheets of pitch and burned at night in 
Nero's gardens; and the name of "Nero's candles" 
was given to these. Others, more mercifully, were 
put to death in their prisons; and in later days it was 
said that among this number were the Apostles Peter 
and Paul. 

It was not always, however, the evil emperors like 
Nero who persecuted the Christians. Sometimes the 
most severe persecutions were begun by orders of good 
emperors. They were ignorant of the real teachings 
of Christ, and believed that the charges made against 
the Christians were true. In this way it happened 
that Trajan, and Marcus Aurelius, and Diocletian all 
persecuted the Christians and had large numbers of 
them put to death. 

The Christians did not burn the bodies of their dead, 
as the Romans did; they buried them instead. But in 
place of burying them in cemeteries, such as we all 
know, they dug out great tunnels and caves in the soft 
rock, and formed tombs along their sides in which 
they laid the bodies of their dead. In this way the 
hills of Rome came to be mined through and through 
with such tunnels, or "catacombs" as they were called. 

At last these catacombs made a great network of 
passages, miles and miles in length, which crossed and 
re-crossed one another, under the city, just as the 
Roman streets did on the surface of the ground above. 



240 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

When the persecutions would begin, and danger 
would come, the Christians would hide themselves in 
these streets of the dead below the surface of the 
ground; and there, too, they would often hold their 
church services to comfort one another in their times 
of trial and distress. These catacombs still exist at 
Rome, and they are one of the sights that every visitor 
to that city is sure to want to see. 

In these persecutions, many hundreds of Christians 
were put to death because of their religion ; and many 
more were imprisoned, or suffered in other ways for 
their faith. But through it all they were brave and 
glad, for they suffered for Christ as Christ had suffered 
for them. 

The persons who suffered in this way were called 
"martyrs," which means "witnesses" for the Truth. 
Many Christians eagerly sought to receive a martyr's 
death, and mourned when they did not succeed. Even 
boys and girls became heroes in these persecutions, and 
endured death without flinching. At Rome a thirteen- 
year-old girl named Agnes was brought before the 
judges on the charge of being a Christian. She 
refused to deny the charge, and was put to death by 
the sword; and after that her name was honored as 
that of a saint. And in Gaul, a young slave girl 
endured the most cruel tortures and at last was thrown 
to the wild beasts in a net, because she would not 
give up Christianity; and a boy fifteen years old was 
also put to death there, at the same time and for the 
same reason. 

One of the noblest of the martyrs was a man named 
Polycarp, who was put to death in Asia Minor while 



THE CHRISTIANS AND THE EMPIRE. 241 

Marcus Aurelius was emperor. He was then an old, 
old man, of ninety years, and all the Christians of the 
East looked up to him with love and admiration, for 
he was a disciple of the Apostle John. When the 
soldiers came to arrest him, their commander took 
pity on him, and tried to persuade him to sacrifice to 
the Roman gods, and so save his life. 

"What harm can there be in saying 'the emperor, 
our Lord,' and in offering sacrifices to him?" he asked. 

At first Polycarp was silent ; but when they went on 
to urge him, he said mildly : 

"I will not do as you advise me." 

When he was brought before the Roman governor 
of that province, he, too, urged him to swear by the 
emperor as by a god, and give proof of his repentance 
by saying, with the people, "Away with the godless." 
But Polycarp looked with a firm eye at the crowd that 
stood by; then with his eyes lifted up to heaven, and 
pointing at them with his finger, he cried: 

"Away with the godless." 

And when the governor urged him further, and said, 
"Curse Christ, and I will release you;" Polycarp 
answered : 

"Eighty-six years have I served him, and he has 
done me nothing but good, — and how could I curse 
him, my Lord and Saviour? If you wish to know what 
I am, I tell you frankly I am a Christian. ' ' 

Even then the Roman governor wished to save the 
brave old man, if he could ; but Potycarp would not 
yield. At last the governor turned to the people, and 
a herald proclaimed: 

"Polycarp has confessed that he is a Christian." 



242 THE CITY OP THE SEVEN HILLS. 

When the people heard these words, they cried out 
that he was the father of the Christians, that he was 
the enemy of their gods, and that he had taught man) r 
to turn from their worship and cease to sacrifice in 
their temples. They demanded that Polycarp should 
be burned at the stake, and they themselves brought 
wood for this purpose from the workshops and baths. 
Then the Roman governor gave his consent, and it 
was done as they had desired ; and Polycarp met his 
death with the same steadfastness and courage which 
he had shown at his trial. 

In this way men and women of all classes, young and 
old, noble and slave, suffered and were put to death. 
But still the number of the Christians increased with 
each persecution. 

"Go on," said one of the Christian writers to the 
Roman rulers; "go on, — torture us and grind us to 
dust. Our numbers increase more rapidly than you 
mow us down. The blood of the martyrs is the seed 
of the Church." 

At last the time came when the persecutions were to 
cease altogether, and the emperors themselves, and all 
of their officers were to become Christians. 

This happened, as you have already seen, while 
Constantine was on the throne. During the first part 
of his reign, he had to struggle against several rivals 
in the empire. At one time, the story goes, while he 
was marching rapidly from Gaul into Italy to attack 
one of his enemies, he saw a flaming cross in the sky 
in broad day, and on the cross were these words: 

"In this sign, conquer." 

In the battle which followed, Constantine did con- 



THE CHRISTIANS AND THE EMPIRE. 243 

quer; and he believed that he owed his victory to the 
god of the Christians. So one of the first things that 
he did after that was to issue an order to stop the 
persecutions, and permit the Christians to practise 
their religion openly and in peace. 

After this, Constantine became a Christian himself, 
and did all that he could to favor their cause. Temples 
were taken away from the priests of the old gods and 
given to the Christians to use as churches ; and only 
Christians were appointed to offices under the empire. 
And when Constantine died, his sons followed the 
same religion ; and the number of the Christians grew 
rapidly under them. And though Julian, the nephew 
of Constantine, ceased to be a Christian when he 
became emperor, and tried to bring the people back to 
the worship of Mars and Jupiter once more, he did not 
succeed. The task was too great for him. After him, 
all of the emperors were Christians ; and at last a time 
came when the old worship was put down altogether. 

Then the altars of the old gods were thrown down 
and their images were broken ; and the sacred fire in 
the temple of Vesta, which had burned without inter- 
ruption for eleven centuries, was extinguished forever. 
And after that all persons were punished who dared to 
sacrifice to the old gods who had so long been wor- 
shiped by the Roman people. 



244 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



XXIX 

The Remains of Rome. 

THE Roman Empire came to an end many centuries 
ago, but there is still much of Rome left in the 
world to-day. The Romans live for us yet in their 
history, and also in the languages and laws of Europe, 
which are founded in large part upon the language and 
law of Rome. In another way also Rome and the life 
of her citizens are with us still. The Roman roads 
and bridges and walls can still be traced all over 
Europe, and at Rome a few great buildings remain 
which give us a faint idea of the grandeur of the ancient 
city. Moreover, by a strange chance, a Roman city — 
the city of Pompeii — has been preserved for us entire, 
very much as it was toward the close of the first 
century after Christ; and in this we can draw near to 
the life of the people of Rome as it must have been 
eighteen hundred years ago. 

You will remember, perhaps, that the Romans of the 
time of Cincinnatns lived partly in the country upon 
their farms, and partly in the city. Although the 
Romans of the empire were very different in their 
thoughts and tastes from those of the earlier days, they 
were like them in this, that they did not confine them- 
selves to a life in Rome. Every citizen who was able 
to afford it, had a house outside of Rome, — on some 
beautiful Italian lake, at the foot of the mountains, or 



THE REMAINS OF ROME. 245 

on the seashore. The western coast of Italy was lined, 
in places, with the country houses, or villas, of the 
Romans; and one beautiful bay — that on which the 
city of Naples stands — was noted for the number of 
the towns and villas which covered its shores. 

Overlooking this bay, at the present time, is the 
lofty peak of Mt. Vesuvius. Travelers who visit the 
city of Naples to-day think themselves fortunate if 
they are there during an eruption of Vesuvius; for it 
is now one of the most active volcanoes of the world. 
Up to the first century after Christ, however, the 
Romans knew nothing of Vesuvius as an active volcano. 
Cities were built at its very foot; and one of the 
Roman writers describes Vesuvius as rising behind 
these towns, "well cultivated and inhabited all around, 
except the top, which is for the most part level and 
entirely barren, ashy to the view, and displaying great 
hollows in rocks which look as if they had been eaten 
by fire. So we may suppose this spot," he con- 
tinues, "to have been a volcano formerly, with burn- 
ing craters, which are now extinguished for want of 
fuel." 

In the year 79 a.d., the fires of Vesuvius burst 
forth again, after their long, long rest, and brought 
destruction to the country around it. 

It was the afternoon of a November day, and the 
burning heats of summer were now past. Many of the 
Roman visitors had left their country homes, and 
returned to the capital. Some, however, still lingered 
in their beautiful villas; and such of them as were not 
taking their afternoon nap, were reading, or busying 
themselves with other matters. In the cities near by, 



246 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

life was going on as usual. In one place masons were 
at work repairing a damaged building; in the Forum, 
the shop-keepers were showing their wares to custom- 
ers; in the crowded theatre men and women watched 
with wolfish eyes the struggles of the gladiators. 

Suddenly a strange cloud, shaped like a pine-tree, 
with a lofty trunk and a cluster of branches at the top, 
was seen to rise above Vesuvius. As the people 
watched it, it continually changed in height ; and some- 
times it was fiery-bright in appearance, and sometimes 
it seemed streaked with black. 

This was the beginning of a great eruption of dust 
and ashes, which lasted for days, and is said to have 
scattered its showers of volcanic dust as far as Africa 
and Egypt. At the same time, the land was shaken 
by earthquakes, and the sea drew back from the shore. 

The people, in terror, fled in all directions, by sea 
and land, thinking the end of the world had come. 
Most of them escaped in safety, but some, who tried 
to brave the storm and remain in the cities, were lost. 

When the eruption had ceased, it was found that a 
thick layer of ashes and mud was spread over the 
country around, and the towns which were nearest to 
the mountain were covered so deeply that only the 
tops of the tallest buildings were visible above the 
surface of the ground. As the years went by, other 
eruptions came, and added to the thickness of this 
covering. Then the top layer was gradually changed 
to a fine loam; and grass, and bushes, and even trees, 
sprang up and covered the spot where the cities lay 
buried. At last they seemed wholly lost to the memory 
of man. 



THE REMAINS OF ROME. 247 

For sixteen hundred years the cities about Mount 
Vesuvius then lay buried and lost to view. Then a 
well, deeper than usual, happened to be dug in the 
ground above one of them. There, many feet under 
ground, ancient statues were found, and bits of sculp- 
tured marble. Search was made, and it was found that 
the well had struck the stage of a buried theatre. Then 
scholars began to remember the story of the destruction 
of the cities so long ago; and they began to dig else- 
where also. 

From that time to this, the work of uncovering the 
buried cities has slowly been going on. Several 
museums are now filled with the pictures, statues and 
household furniture which have been taken from 
beneath the ashes of Vesuvius. The town which has 
been most thoroughly examined is Pompeii, of which 
over one-half has been uncovered. There we of the 
nineteenth century can see the houses and streets of 
the first century after Christ, very much as they were 
left when the citizens fled in fear for their lives through 
the showers of falling stones and ashes. 

The removal of the covering over Pompeii has shown 
that the city had a forum, surrounded by temples and 
law courts, and other public buildings ; and this, as at 
Rome, was the most splendid part of the city. But it 
is not for the public buildings of Pompeii that we care 
most: ancient temples, and other public buildings, as 
well preserved as these, may be found in other places. 
But the glimpse which we get into the private houses 
of the town, and into the life of the people in the streets 
and shops, — this we can get nowhere else and it is this 
which makes our interest in Pompeii so great. 



248 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



Let us leave the Forum, then, and go down one of 
the many streets that lead from it through the town. 
The first thing that strikes us is the narrowness of the 
streets. In some of the broadest of them, two chariots 
could scarcely have passed each other; and some of the 
ways are so narrow as not even to allow of the passage 
of one. The pavements are formed of large pieces of 




A STREET IN POMPEII. 

stone, joined together with great care; and the ruts 
worn by the passing wheels can still be seen in some of 
them. On each side of the street is a narrow walk for 
the foot passengers; this is raised above the level of 
the roadway, and large stepping-stones are placed in 
the middle of the street to enable the people to cross 
from one side to the other in rainy weather. 

Passing along one of these streets, we notice that the 



THE REMAINS OF ROME. 249 

houses are built out to the edge of the pavement, and 
have their plain and unadorned side toward the 
passers-by. They are built, — as are the houses in 
many countries to-day, — about one or more inner 
courts into which most of the rooms open. Often the 
street side was occupied by shops which were rented 
out by the owner of the house, and which had no con- 
nection with the life of the house itself. 

Let us enter one of these houses, and see how a 
Roman dwelling was arranged. We will choose one of 
the larger and finer buildings. The entrance is 
through a passage-way which lies between two of the 
shops which make up the front of the house. There 
we find the Latin word for "Welcome" formed of bits 
of stone, in the mosaic work of the floor. Stepping 
over this, we enter first the large public hall, which 
you see plainty in the picture on page 250. Here the 
master of the house received the visitors who came to 
see him on business, or to pay their respects to him. 
If they came from a distance, they might be lodged 
over night in the small rooms which you see opening 
off from the hall on each side. The walls of this large 
room were decorated with paintings and drawings, and 
here and there we see places where the statues shown 
in the picture once stood. The floor here, and, indeed, 
all through the lower story of the house, was formed 
of blocks of marble or other stone, and usually the 
blocks were of different colors and were arranged to 
form a pattern of some sort. 

In the centre of the floor of the room which we are 
examining, we see a square basin, several feet deep. 
When we ask what this was for, we are told that there 



25° 



THE CITY OF THE SEYEX HILLS. 



was an opening- in the roof above this, and that the 
basin was to catch the water which fell when it rained. 
Unfortunately, the roofs of the houses have all been 
broken down or burned, and the rooms are now open 
to the sky; so we have to imagine this opening in the 
roof. In the beginning, we are told, it was left to let 
out the smoke and vapors from the fires; for none of 
the houses had chimneys, and the fireplaces were only 
metal pots or pans in which charcoal might be burned. 
We could not imagine ourselves, in our cold climate, 




A ROMAN HOUSE. 

living with such an opening over our heads; but in the 
warmer climate of Italy, this plan had many advan- 
tages. For one thing, the rooms were thus freely 
ventilated; and an awning, drawn across the opening, 
served to keep out the sun in summer. 

Leaving the public hall, we come through another 
passage to the private part of the house, where the 
women and children dwelt, and where no visitor might 
come without a snecial invitation from the master. 



THE REMAINS OF ROME 251 

Here we find another court, with rows of slender, grace- 
ful columns about it. Opening off this court, are small 
low bedrooms, which we should think very uncomfort- 
able; and here, too, is the dining-room, where the mas- 
ter of the house entertained his friends at dinner. Above 
this court, also, there was an opening in the roof, with 
a basin below to catch the water ; and about the basin, 
between and behind the columns, there grew, perhaps, 
beds of blooming flowers and clumps of evergreens. 

Only the ground floor remains of most of the houses 
of Pompeii; but there must have been a second story 
to all of the better houses, and sometimes even a third 
story. But the upper part of the house was for the 
use of the slaves and the dependants of the family, and 
could not have been so well arranged, nor so beautiful, 
as the lower portion. 

Even if we had been the first, after its discovery, to 
examine this house, we should not have found the walls 
hung with framed pictures, as with us. Instead of 
that, we might, perhaps, have found its walls beauti- 
fully decorated with scenes and designs painted on the 
wall itself, which had kept their colors almost fresh in 
the darkness of the buried city. Some of these pictures 
have now been allowed to fade by exposure to the 
light and air; but many have been carefully taken 
down and preserved in the museums. 

When these houses were first uncovered, many pieces 
of furniture were found in them; but according to our 
ideas, the Roman rooms must have seemed rather bare 
for living rooms. We should have found in them only 
a few chairs, some small tables, three couches in the 
dining-room — you will remember that the Romans 



252 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 




reclined at their meals — some beds or couches in the 
bedrooms, and here and there high stands for their 
queer oil lamps. The form of these articles, however, 
was often most elegant; and at times they were made 
of very rich material and with great skill of 
workmanship. Besides such larger pieces of 
furniture, many smaller articles have been 
found, as the work of unearthing the city 
has gone on. Among these, we may name 
cooking vessels, vases, cups and fine glasses, 
0M combs, hairpins, polished metal mirrors, 
pompeii. and many pieces of jewelry. 
Besides the private houses, and the public buildings, 
many shops have been found in Pompeii. Most of 
these are just tiny little rooms in the front of the 
houses, and are entirely open toward the street. 
Usually we can tell what sort of a shop each is bv the 
sign in front of it. Here is one with a wooden goat 
before it, and we know that it was a milk shop. Another 
has a large jar as a sign, and we know at once that it 
was a wine shop. The one with a 
snake before it was a drug store ; and 
this one with a row of hams for a 
sign, we are told, was an eating 
house. Three bakeries have been 
discovered, and these give us a very 
good idea of how the bread of the 
Romans looked; for in the oven of one of them, eighty- 
three loaves were discovered, black and charred, but 
still keeping their original shape. A washing and 
dyeing shop, for the care of the woolen garments which 
were almost the only kind worn, has also been dis- 




DRINKING BOWL 
1 ROM POMPEII. 



THE REMAINS OF ROME. 



253 



covered; and here the stone tubs 
may still be seen waiting for their 
contents, while on the walls are 
pictures of men standing - in tubs 
and stamping with their feet, to show 
us how they were used in washing 
garments. 

In one way the people of Pompeii 
were very much like some bad boys 
of our own day. They loved to 
scratch and write on the walls of the 
houses of the town, — which, indeed, 
must have offered tempting chances 
to all by being so near to the side- 
walk. So here, we find verses from 
the poets; and there, letters of the 
Greek alphabet, scratched by boys 
too small to reach high up on the 
walls. In many places advertise- 
ments are scratched in the plaster of 
the walls, and announcements of 
fights of gladiators, and perform- 
ances in the theatre. Occasionally, 
too, we find pictures like the one 
shown on page 254, where a gladiator 
is seen coming down the steps of the 
amphitheatre, with a palm leaf of 
victory in his right hand. Such 
drawings and inscriptions are often 
found on the ancient buildings of 
Rome also. There, as at Pompeii, 
they must have been the work of the 



-3^ 



LAMP AND STAND. 



2 54 



the city OP riu: SEVBN hills. 



common people and the young boys, for the writers are 
usually very uncertain of their grammar and spelling-. 
The old Roman life has been kept for us better in the 
city of Pompeii than anywhere else; for at Rome itself, 
the buildings and furniture and tools and ornaments 
of the people, did not remain unused and unchanged 

during the centuries. 
People continued to 
live in the greater 
city, through all 
the changes that 
the years brought 
with them; and they 
live there to this 
day. Only a few of 
the great monuments 
of the past, however, 
remain among them. 
Do you wonder 
how the magnificent 
buildings of the older 
Rome, which were so 
solidly built of stone 
and marble, could 
have been so nearly 
destroyed, even in so 
long a stretch of 
time? 

For many hundreds of years after the Roman empire 
of the West had come to an end, the people of the city 
knew little of the past, and cared still less about it. They 
used the old temples for churches, changing them to 




MAWIM; ON I'll]'. Ol II R VVAI l OF 
A lloi S] IN POMPEII 






THE REMAINS OF ROME. ^55 

suit their purposes ; and they tore down the finest build- 
ings of the older city, in order to get stone for use 
in building new ones of their own. There is no 
doubt that, in this way, the Romans themselves have 
done more harm to the old city than all the armies 
that have ever captured Rome. If we could only 
learn the history and the former use of each of the 
marbles, stones and bricks, of which the palaces and 
churches of modern Rome are built, our knowledge of 
the city of the Caesars would be almost complete. 

In the fifteenth century the Church of St. Peter, the 
grandest in the world to-day, was begun at Rome, and 
rose slowly for more than two hundred years before it 
reached completion. The building of this church 
alone caused more destruction to the remains of 
ancient Rome than the ten centuries of ignorance 
that had gone before. Of the huge masses of marble 
of every color and size used in it, not an inch was dug 
from the quarries in modern times. They were all 
taken from the ancient buildings, many of which were 
leveled to the ground for the sake of one or two 
pieces only. At this time, also, the greatest sculptors 
that Italy has ever seen were flourishing; and they too 
found marbles ready to their hand in the fallen 
columns of the ancient temples. In this way, the 
materials of the most beautiful Christian chapel in 
the world, were taken from the tomb of the Emperor 
Hadrian. 

If you ever go to Rome, and see the great arching 
dome of St. Peter's, and the other beautiful sights of 
the modern city, you must remember this. The new 
Rome which the eye sees contains the Rome of ancient 



25 6 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

times beneath its soil and in its greatest buildings, in 
something of the same way in which our language 
holds the old Latin words which have been worked 
over into a different form, and put to different uses in 
our speech. At first glance we see only that which is 
new, and we think that the old has completely per- 
ished; but, as we look closer and study into things, we 
find that all of the past is there also, if we only know 
how to find it. 



SUMMARIES OF CHAPTERS. 

I. — The Peninsula of Italy. 

i. Position, size, and shape ; comparison with Greece and Spain. 

2. Climate. 

3. Surface : the valley of the River Po ; the Apennine mountains ; 

the plains. 

4. Rivers: general character; the River Tiber. 

5. Coast lands: in the northwest; about the mouth of the Tiber; 

in the south ; the eastern coast ; the lands about the mouth 
of the Po. 

6. Early governments in Italy ; the city of Rome. 

II. — Romulus and the Beginning of Rome. 

1. Difficulty of learning how and when Rome was founded; the 

belief of the Romans. 

2. Early life of Romulus. 

3. Founding of the city. 

4. Seizure of the Sabine women; war; the Sabines settle at 

Rome. 

5. The rule of Romulus. 

6. His disappearance. 

III. — Numa, the Peaceful King. 

1. Election of Numa. 

2. His character and policy. 

3. The Roman religion; the gods Jupiter, Mars, Juno, Minerva, 

Vesta, and Janus. 

4. The worship of the gods arranged by Numa: the Vestal 

Virgins ; the dancing priests of Mars. 

5. Death of Numa. 

IV. — The Last of the Kings. 

1. New wars: their lesson for the Romans; Alba Longa 
destroyed. 

257 



258 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

2. New walls; sewers; the temple on the Capitol. 

3. The Sybil! ine books. 

4. Tarquin the Proud, the seventh king. 

5. Tarquin driven out, and a republic set up. 

V. — The War with Lars Porsena. 

1. Plot of the young nobles to restore Tarquin ; the judgment 

of Brutus. 

2. Lars Porsena aids Tarquin. 

3. Horatius at the Bridge. 

VI. — The Stories of Mucius and Clcelia. 

1. The story of Mucius. 

2. Lars Porsena makes peace. 

3. The story of Cloelia. 

4. The last war with Tarquin ; Castor and Pollux. 

VII. — Secession of the Plebeians. 

1. Patricians and plebeians. 

2. The grievances of the plebeians. 

3. Struggles between the classes. 

4. The secession to the Sacred Mount. 

5. Tribunes appointed to protect the plebeians. 

6. Continued struggles. 

VIII. — The Story of Coriolanus. 

1. Early life of Caius Marcius. 

2. How he gained the name Coriolanus. 

3. His struggle with the plebeians; he is sent into exile. 

4. He leads the Volscians against Rome. 

5. Rome saved by Veturia. 

IX. — The Family of the Fabii. 

1. Roman families. 

2. The Fabii and the plebeians. 

3. The Fabii march against the Veientians. 

4. Destruction of the Fabii. 



SUMMARIES OF CHAPTERS. 



2 59 



X. — The Victory of Cincinnatus. 

i. The wars with the ^Equians. 

2. A Roman army entrapped. 

3. Cincinnatus made Dictator. 

4. His victory over the ^Equians. 

5. Cincinnatus lays down his power. 

XI. — The Laws of the Twelve Tables. 

1. The early Roman law; grievances of the people. 

2. Struggle to have the laws made public. 

3. The "Ten Men" chosen. 

4. The Twelve Tables published. 

5. Their provisions. 

6. Growth of the Roman law ; its influence. 

XII. — How Camillus Captured Veil 

1. Rome's wars with Veii ; the long siege. 

2. The Alban lake and the oracle of Apollo. 

3. Draining the Alban lake. 

4. Camillus captures Veii. 

5. Removal of the gods to Rome. 

6. Camillus and the treacherous schoolmaster. 

7. Camillus quarrels with the people ; his exile. 

XIII. — The Coming of the Gauls. 

1. The home of the Gauls. 

2. Their appearance and manner of fighting. 

3. Settlement of the Gauls in northern Italy. 

4. The Gauls before Clusium ; action of the Roman ambassadors. 

5. The Gauls march upon Rome. 

6. The battle ; defeat and flight of the Romans. 

XIV. — The Gauls in Rome. 

1. Dismay in the city; the Roman plans. 

2. The Gauls enter Rome ; the old men in the Forum. 

3. Slaughter of the old men ; burning of the city. 

4. Siege of the Capitol. 



260 



THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 



5. Camillus's victory over a band of the Gauls; the messenger 

to the Senate. 

6. The attempt of the Gauls to surprise the Capitol ; its failure. 

7. The Gauls agree to depart from Rome ; their terms. 

XV. — Rebuilding the City. 

1. Despair of the people; proposal to remove to Veii. 

2. Speech of Camillus. 

3. Decision to remain at Rome. 

4. Rebuilding the city. 

5. Wars with the neighboring peoples ; victories of Camillus. 

6. The last war of Camillus ; his noble spirit. 

7. Death of Camillus ; his services to Rome. 

XVI.— The New Rome 

1. Recovery of Rome from her misfortunes. 

2. End of the struggle between the plebeians and patricians. 

3. The building of aqueducts. 

4. Roman roads ; the Appian Way. 

5. What Rome learned from other nations. 

6. Devotion of the Romans to their city: the story of Marcus 

Curtius ; the sacrifice of Decius Mus. 



XVII. — The War with Pyrrhus, 

1. The Greeks of Southern Italy. 

2. Rome's quarrel with Tarentumu 

3. Tarentum calls in King Pyrrhus. 

4. The first battle with Pyrrhus; the Roman and the Greek 

modes of fighting ; defeat of the Romans. 

5. Embassy of Cinias to Rome; speech of Appius Claudius. 

6. Fabricius and Pyrrhus. 

7. Second battle with Pyrrhus; the Romans again defeated. 

8. Pyrrhus in Sicily. 

9. The third battle; victory of the Romans; Pvrrhns leaves 

Italy. 
10. Capture of Tarentum ; Rome the ruler of the peninsula. 



SUMMARIES OF CHAPTERS. 261 

XVIII. — Rome and the Carthaginians. 

1. The Carthaginians: their mother-country; their voyages; 

their inventions ; the city of Carthage. 

2. Rivalry with Rome in Sicily ;- beginning of the first war. 

3. Strength of the two peoples. 

4. The Romans build a fleet; the "crows" ; Roman victories. 

5. Regulus in Africa ; his capture. 

6. Embassy of Regulus to Rome ; his death. 

7. Length of the war ; Roman misfortunes. 

8. The Romans build a new fleet ; its victory. 

9. The treaty of peace. 

XIX. — The War with Hannibal. 

1. Civil war at Carthage ; Hamilcar. 

2. Hamilcar goes to Spain ; the oath of Hannibal. 

3. Carthage conquers Spain ; Hannibal becomes commander of 

the army. 

4. Beginning of the second war between Rome and Carthage. 

5. Hannibal's plans. 

6. His march across the Alps. 

7. Arrival in Italy ; his successes. 

8. Roman fear of Hannibal. 

9. Causes of Hannibal's failure; his recall. 

10. Scipio Africanus ; defeat of Hannibal at Zama. 

11. Terms of peace. 

12. Last years of Hannibal; his death. 

XX. — Rome Conquers the World. 

1. Rome's gains from Carthage. 

2. Conquest of Northern Italy and Southern Gaul. 

3. Conquest of Macedonia. 

4. The Romans in Asia Minor and in Egypt. 

5. The third war with Carthage ; destruction of the city ; Roman 

power in Africa. 

6. Good results of Roman rule. 

7. Effects of the conquests on the Roman generals; on the 

common soldiers. 



262 THE CITY OF THE SEVEN HILLS. 

8. ^Emilius Paullus: his reforms; his victories over Macedonia; 

his just dealings. 

9. The triumph of ^Emilius. 

XXI. — The Gracchi and their Mother. 

1. Roman marriage customs. 

2. Marriage of Tiberius Gracchus and Cornelia, daughter of 

Scipio Africanus; death of Gracchus; Cornelia and her 
children. 

3. Young Tiberius Gracchus; his service in the army. 

4. Troubles of the Roman farmers ; slavery ; decay of the people. 

5. Tiberius Gracchus elected tribune ; he attempts to cure these 

evils. 

6. Mistakes of Tiberius ; he is put to death; character of the new 

party struggles at Rome. 

7. Caius Gracchus; his election as tribune; his reforms; his 

death. 

8. Conduct of Cornelia. 

XXII. — The Wars of Caius Marks. 

1. Caius Marius; the eagle's nest; the saying of Scipio ^Emili- 

anus. 

2. Marius and the war against Jugurtha; his first consulship. 

3. The invasion of the Germans. 

4. Victories of Marius over the Germans. 

5. Marius's sixth consulship; his failure as a statesman. 

6. Civil war between the parties of Marius and Sulla. 

7. The victories of Sulla; wanderings of Marius; departure of 

Sulla. 

8. Return of Marius to Rome; his cruelties; his seventh consul- 

ship and death. 

9. Return of Sulla ; his terrible vengeance ; sufferings of Italy. 

XXIII. — Cicero, the Oratok. 

1. Birth of Cicero; his home life and training. 

2. Roman schools; Cicero's life till he was fifteen. 

3. Cicero in the law-courts. 

4. His first case; his ('car of Sulla's anger; travels in Greece. 

5. Cicero enters politics; trial of Verres, 



SUMMARIUS OF CHAPTERS. 



263 



6. His election as consul; Catiline's conspiracy. 

7. Evils of Roman government ; Cicero's plans. 

8. New civil wars ; Cicero's course. 

9. Cicero's death ; his character. 

XXIV. — Julius Caesar, the Conqueror of Gaul. 

1. Caesar's youth; Sulla wishes to put him to death. 

2. Caesar in the East ; his first training in war. 

3. His adventure with the pirates. 

4. Caesar at Rome ; his habits. 

5. Caesar made overseer of the public games. 

6. Character of the games: the chariot races; the wild beast 

hunts ; the gladiatorial combats. 

7. Caesar and Pompey; Caesar elected consul, and made 

governor of Gaul. 

8. Condition of Gaul. 

9. Caesar's victory over the Swiss. 

10. His march against the Germans ; trouble with his soldiers. 

11. Extent of his conquests; expeditions into Germany and 

Britain. 

12. Caesar's character as a general. 

XXV. — Cesar and the Beginning of the Empire. 

1. Failure of the government of Rome ; the remedy. 

2. Pompey joins the party of the Senate ; plans against Caesar. 

3. Caesar crosses the Rubicon ; the second civil war begins. 

4. Flight of Pompey to Greece; Caesar goes to Spain. 

5. Caesar follows Pompey to Greece ; defeat and death of Pom- 

pey. 

6. Further conquests of Caesar ; mutiny of his soldiers. 

7. Caesar's four-fold triumph. 

8. Caesar as Emperor ; his reforms. 

9. Plot against Caesar ; his death. 
10. His character. 

XXVI. — Rome in the Time of Augustus. 

1. Struggles after Caesar's death ; his nephew becomes Emperor. 

2. The good rule of Augustus ; boundaries of the Empire. 

3. Literature under Augustus ; the poet Horace. 



264 



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1. 

2. 

3- 

4- 
5- 



1. 

2. 

3. 

4- 
5- 
6. 

7- 



1. 

2. 
3- 
4- 
5- 
6. 

7- 

8. 

9- 
10. 



A day in Rome: clients and the morning reception; the 
business in the Forum ; the mid-day rest ; exercise in the 
Field of Mars; the baths; the banquet. 

XXVII. — The Empire after Augustus. 

The successors of Augustus ; Nero. 

The Good Emperors: Trajan; Hadrian; Marcus Aurelius. 

Decline of the Empire; danger from the Germans; the 

emperor Diocletian. 
Constantine the Great ; the Christian religion; Constantinople. 
Division of the Empire; attacks of the Germans; fall of the 

Empire of the West. 
The German conquest paves the way for modern Europe. 

XXVIII.— The Christians and the Empire. 

Spread of Christianity in the Empire. 

Attitude of the government; "To the lions with the Chris- 
tians!" 

Persecution under Nero. 

The Catacombs. 

Brave ry of the Martyrs ; Poly carp. 

Failure of the persecutions to check the growth of Christianity. 

The Empire becomes Christian; Constantine; end of the 
old religion. 

XXIX. — The Remains of Rome. 

Roman remains: language, laws, ruins. 

Eruption of Vesuvius, 79 a. d. 

Discovery of the buried cities ; Pompeii. 

Streets and public buildings of Pompeii. 

The private dwellings. 

Pictures and furniture. 

Pompeiian shops. 

Writings on the walls. 

Disappearance of the ancient remains at Rome. 

The old in the new. 



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